Reading Between the Lines
by DreamStar14
Summary: "Missing pieces do more than complete the puzzle. They fill in an empty space." Luanne Rice / These are the scenes that never made it, that may never have been known as someone not been there to tell them. These are the missing pieces of the puzzle. Side-Story to Top of the World. UPDATE: Chapter 13: Antonio tries to balance his many responsibilities.
1. Chapter 1: 2-1 - His Promise

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

Those of you, who have followed along since Top of the World, thank you for reading and following me! It is highly appreciated. And those of you just joining us, welcome! We hope you enjoy your stay.

And by 2.1, I mean Top of the World, Chapter 2. If you are confused, please go back and read Top of the World. If you have read it already, please reread it, to refresh your memory.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_He reached out and gently wiped a tear away. _'It's okay, Em. Whatever is troubling you now, just let it go. Tomorrow we'll all do something together, as a team.'

_She sniffed once again, having started to loosen up at 'Em'. She never heard him call her anything except 'Emily'. _'W-Will it be fun?'

_He managed to stifle a short laugh, but he still gently smiled. _'Yes, Em. It'll be fun. I promise.'

_She let out a tearful smile and he pulled her to his chest, merely stroking her hair and letting her get her tears out._

_And trust me, he did keep his promise." _~ Top of the World, Chapter 2: Origins, Part 2

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 2.1: His Promise**

_**January 23, 2012**_

**Panorama City, Main Street**

"_Dude, that was _too close_. We could have been wiped out for _good_."_

"_Just be thankful we actually _won_, Mike."_

"_But Kevin, he's right. We need to step up our game if we're ever going to win another battle like _that_. Scorponic was really tough."_

"_True. We _all_ need to train harder than ever."_

"_I was actually thinking of doing some team-bonding exercises."_

"Thank you_, Mia. Is it just me or does this guy never think about anything but training?"_

"_Mike…"_

"_Sorry, Jayden, but it's true."_

"_He's dedicated. It's a good quality for a Samurai."_

"_Now, now. Let's not fight, please. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. It was my mistake."_

"Dammit, Emily_! Stop blaming yourself. You took that hit with good intentions!"_

_"Good intentions, but stupid actions…"_

"_Ugh!"_

"_Calm down, Mike. Don't judge her guilt. It's okay, Emily. You stood back up and you pulled through."_

"_Thanks, Mia…"_

"_Come on. Let's go back to the House. Jii will clean your injuries."_

That was yesterday. Jayden's last line there had hidden his real emotions. He is glad they had all pulled through for him. They really are a strong team, perfect for his sister.

Kevin is dedicated. He was also very disciplined and orderly, always with the best interests of the Samurai code at heart and at mind. However much it annoyed Mike, the team needs that.

Mia is the big sister. She is kind and caring, but knew how to be tough when it counted. Jayden is sure she would be able to stand her ground, no matter what.

Mike is the jokester. He is often the comic relief, and he fights with Kevin a lot, even though it had only been two days. He hasn't shown much strength on the battlefield yet, but Jayden is confident that he would. Mike has a lot of potential. One day, if he really works at it, he may even surpass Jayden.

Emily is the youngest and most inexperienced member of the team. But she is trying her best. The more she fights, the better she gets. But he can sense that she is hiding something. She is trying to be strong, but it is slowly choking her, and she will die if she doesn't break free.

"Get that filth away from me, Hayashi."

His attention is drawn to the other two males on the team. He turns to face them, wondering what the problem is now.

"What's the deal?" Mike retaliates. That's what Jayden wants to know. "They're just M&amp;Ms."

_Oh…_

"They are fattening, Hayashi."

"Is it the color? Here. You can have all the blue ones."

"No thanks, Hayashi."

Mike scoffs. "I have a name, you know. It's Mike. And why the hell do you make things so complicated?"

"Save your breath, Mike," Mia cuts in. "He doesn't understand that all work and no play makes Kevin a very dull boy."

Mike turns back to Kevin. "See? This is why she doesn't piss me off. She knows life is not all about working and training."

Jayden merely rolls his eyes and glances over at Emily. She's been awfully quiet ever since last night, after getting back home from fighting Scorponic.

It was a fierce fight, especially for Emily. After her screw-up, she found it quite hard to get back up and keep going. Even now, it is obvious that she still feels guilty about her mistake. That's why she's acting so sad and distant from the others.

Even now…

Partially sick and tired of the arguing taking place, Jayden backtracks and stands beside Emily, not too close, but not too far away.

As in, they're not friends, but they're not strangers either.

They're companions, teammates. That's all.

Trying to ease in the conversation, Jayden stares she her own gaze is. She's staring out into the ocean. No people in sight, in the water or on the beach. It's too cold, too early in the year for that.

It's a few minutes before either of them finally speak. Shy, soft spoken Emily is the one who breaks the silence.

"I've always wondered if it will ever be cold enough to make the entire ocean freeze over."

He quietly replies, "As long as the sun exists, that will never happen."

He doesn't mean for it to sound harsh, but Emily backs off immediately, as if he had just reprimanded her. "I-I suppose you're right." She pauses. "I appreciate your keeping your promise, though. Thank you," she quietly adds.

He doesn't glance over at her, nor does he say anything to accept her gratitude, however much he really does. Instead, he responds, "Just as the sun prevents the cold from freezing the entire ocean and killing all its inhabitants, it is our duty as Samurai Rangers to prevent the Nighlock from flooding our world and causing misery."

Emily is quiet. She certainly never thought about it like that. She feels a hand on her head, it's Jayden's, and it turns her gaze away from the ocean and the beach to the city behind and beside them. The hand is lifted, and Jayden continues on.

"You made a mistake. So what? Imagine what the world would look like had thing gone any differently, had you not stood back up and kept fighting, and notice the difference now because you did. You may have almost let us all down, but you didn't, because you corrected that mistake before it was too late."

Emily feels herself tearing up. "B-But I disobeyed orders. Y-You told me to stay down…"

"I don't expect all of my orders to be followed. What I do expect, however, is that no matter how hard you fall, you always get right back up again. That's _exactly_ what you did, Emily Suzuki, and that's what makes you a _true Samurai_."

Emily glances up at him and smiles.

In this moment, Jayden notes the fighting in the background, or lack thereof. Mia, Mike, and Kevin are still here, but they have ceased their arguing and are currently listening to their leader intently, taking in every single word he says.

For this, he is grateful. This is true bonding, not arguing amongst themselves, but coming to realize the burdens and duties they all carry _as a team_, and most of all, swearing to themselves and their teammates to carry out their duties no matter what.

As Jayden gently rubs the top of Emily's head, Kevin turns to Mike, and quietly says, "Mike, can I have the blue M&amp;Ms now?"

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please!

**Chapter 2: **_**2.5 – The Team Unites**_

"_They were a team, but that's as far as their relationship went. Emily, however, wanted something more. She wanted them to be friends, a tight family with unbreakable ties."_


	2. Chapter 2: 2-5 - The Team Unites

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

Those of you, who have followed along since Top of the World, thank you for reading and following me! It is highly appreciated. And those of you just joining us, welcome! We hope you enjoy your stay.

If you are confused, please go back and read Top of the World. If you have read it already, please reread it, to refresh your memory.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_They were a team, but that's as far as their relationship went. Emily, however, wanted something more. She wanted them to be friends, a tight family with unbreakable ties."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 2.5: The Team Unites**

_**January 25, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Kitchen**

She was late, she was late, she was so late!

Emily had stayed up late last night, making friendship bracelets for her teammates, plus Mentor Jii. She had woken up a half hour later than she meant to, and now she was paying for it.

If she ate a full breakfast, she would definitely be late for training. Jii was strict about being on time, Jayden was about half of that, and Kevin was always on everyone else's case about it. He would talk others down until their minds were numb, Mike's especially. It wasn't the tardiness that was really the issue. The problem was the lecture she would get for being late.

But if the others liked her bracelets, or the gesture, or both, then it would be worth it.

But she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, hearing the following conversation and feeling it bring her spirits down, second after second, as it went on.

"Mike you're late again," Kevin was saying, obviously to Mike, who just sighed in exasperation. "A Samurai is never late to anything. Any tardiness is viewed as dishonor."

"Chill, okay?" Mike retorted, hotly. "Nobody's gonna die if I'm late for training."

"Innocent civilians definitely will if you don't take this entire mission seriously. Do you want people to die?"

"Dude, relax! Quit getting on my case about everything! You're so annoying!"

"Both of you, cut it out!" Jayden sternly yelled from his place at the kitchen counter.

Mia rolled her eyes, as Jii left the room, tiredly greeting Emily on the way out. Emily only glanced at him as he walked away, before turning her attention back to her teammates.

"I'm sorry, Jayden," Kevin said, "but Mike here should really think about organizing his life."

"Dude, shut up! Get off my back! Quit yelling at me!" Mike yelled back.

"Oh, sure," Mia said, sarcasm clearly lacing her voice. "More yelling will definitely stop all the yelling."

But that appeared to only make things worse, as Kevin and Mike started arguing with Mia, with Jayden off to the side, struggling to keep his cool, determined to keep his temper under control.

This wasn't what she wanted. Not at all. She didn't want a fight.

She felt the bracelets drop from her numb fingers, as tears welded up in her eyes. She shouted, louder above the rest. "STOP IT!"

Taken by complete surprise at her outburst, her four teammates did as she asked, turning to face their yellow Samurai.

Emily continued, "We shouldn't act this way! Do you want to encourage the Ukigumo?!"

"Uki…what?" Mike asked.

"Ukigumo," Jayden calmly repeated. "It's Japanese for 'instability', but in the Suzuki Clan's case, it means the Drifting, capitalized."

"Ukigumo," Emily went on, "the Drifting, is the event when the team tends to drift apart and their friendship…begins to die."

"Friendship? Me? Friends with this guy?" Mike pointed to Kevin. "Yeah, right," he scoffed. "Not in a million years."

"Calm down, Hayashi," Jayden said, quickly, before another fight broke out. "Emily, it's alright. We're not drifting apart. We're just getting on each other's nerves. That's all. This is just typical roommate stuff."

Emily took in a deep, slightly shattered breath, tears itching to stream down her face. "I-I know. I just…" She took another deep breath. "But we're still a team. We still shouldn't be acting like this! None of us can take any risks for or against the team. One wrong move and the whole team dynamic is ruined!"

And she ran out. Mia turned to the three guys, quietly, sarcastically, replying, "Well, that was nicely handled," before running after Emily.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Outdoor Area**

Mia cautiously approached Emily, sitting on the bench, playing a slightly sad tune on her flute. When Emily finished her song, she slowly put her wooden instrument down.

"Hi, Mia."

The older girl paused. "Hey, Em. How'd you know it was me?"

Emily didn't turn around, or flinch, or move at all. "I'm the Earth Samurai. I can sense vibrations in the ground."

"I figured that's how you could sense someone behind you, but how did you know it was me?"

"Everyone has a distinct vibration. Yours is lighter than the guys'."

"Huh," Mia lightly scoffed. That was interesting. She knew that each Ranger had certain natural abilities according to their element, but she never imagined what the others' would be, besides her own. She cleared her throat. "Anyways, what's up? You just…totally burned the guys back there. What happened?"

Emily breathed in, shaking with emotion. "I…I know we're just teammates, and that's probably all we'll ever be for a while." She sniffed. "I just want us all to be friends, and all this fighting isn't going to make that happen!"

Mia was silent for a minute. "It's not a silly idea, Em."

She whirled around to face the older girl. "Are you kidding?! You heard Mike! Just the thought of being friends with Kevin and possibly Jayden makes him sick! Kevin probably feels the same way! And Jayden said we were all just roommates! To them, it's a stupid idea!"

"Not to me, it isn't."

"Huh?"

"I saw the bracelets you made and dropped on the way out. I think it was a very nice gesture, one the others would definitely have kept with them forever had you actually given them to us."

"Oh, the bracelets…I'll clean them up later."

"Mentor's fixing them up right now. He connected the dots about why you were late, and so he'll let you go, but just this once."

And Emily glanced at Mia with tears in her eyes.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

Mike's friends were in the hospital, at least, they were when the Rangers left the battlefield. One of the two had a broken arm, and the other had a couple of broken ribs. They would be okay, but they couldn't skateboard, or do anything sports-related or rash for a long time. Fortunately, they had passed out when Mike morphed, so they didn't see anything.

After Mike had left his team in a shattered state, Emily sat down, and Mia sat next to her, Jii, Jayden, and Kevin on the other side of the room.

"So, Em…I guess you were right about that whole Ukigumo stuff." Mike had called his teammates just that, merely his co-workers. His friends were the ones who were hurt. And he sounded really angry when he said it, too.

The other three's ears perked up when they heard the Japanese word.

"Even if we fix this, it'll happen again," Emily replied. "But I now understand why we fight all the time. We all have our differences, our insecurities, and we all have the one thought of being the only one who understands our pain, the feeling of being misunderstood. Mike's been friends with those two for a long time. He only met us four, five days ago. He knows them better. We hardly know a thing about each other. My mother once told me that the first step to solving a conflict is understanding each others' pain, to know their side of the story."

"Still, Em," Kevin cut in. "He shouldn't have gone out on his own like that. He should have waited for us."

"There's a simple reason for that, Kevin," Emily replied, calmly. "Mike has a teamwork issue. He doesn't feel comfortable with working as a team just yet. I'm embarrassed to say, but I kind of feel the same way. I mean, it's only been about five days since our first meeting."

"'_If you expect nothing from anybody, you're never disappointed'_," Jii quoted. "And _'you can't expect everyone to have the same dedication as you'_." Jayden nodded.

"No matter what he's done, Mike is still our teammate," and our friend, Emily mentally added, "and as his teammates, it's our job to support him."

The silence allowed them the opportunity to think it all over.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**January 26, 2012**_

Emily walked in the back of the group as the team went from the city back to the Shiba House. She had hurt her arm today in the fight. Other than that, she convinced herself of a job well done.

Blood was seeping through her white sweater. It was visible, and it was even getting on her hand. It was just a cut. How could it be bleeding so much?

"Symbol Power: Heal." Jayden's fire surrounded her injury and began to heal it. Emily watched it do so. He then whispered to her, "Good job, today."

She smiled at him, before Mike said aloud, "Thanks, everyone, for backing me up. I'll never let Ukigumo break us up ever again."

"Or let it crack us either," Mia added. Mike nodded, a smile across his face, and Emily knew right then.

It would take a while, but day by day, they really were closer to becoming friends.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please!

**Chapter 3: **_**3.5 – Day Off**_

"_It was their first official vacation, even if it was just for a day, but Jayden wasn't with them. And that made her very sad."_


	3. Chapter 3: 3-5 - Day Off

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

Those of you, who have followed along since Top of the World, thank you for reading and following me! It is highly appreciated. And those of you just joining us, welcome! We hope you enjoy your stay.

If you are confused, please go back and read Top of the World. If you have read it already, please reread it, to refresh your memory.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_It was their first official vacation, even if it was just for a day, but Jayden wasn't with them. And that made her very sad."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 3.5: Day Off**

_**January 27, 2012**_

**Rainbow's End, Panorama City**

With the sounds of fun and happiness, and carnival music, filling their ears, Kevin, Mia, Mike, and Emily happily entered the amusement park, Rainbow's End.

"Yeah~! We're here, guys! Now, let's go!" Mike said, leading the team through the park.

But complete happiness wasn't exactly the truth. Emily was upset. They others may not have appeared so, but for Emily, her sadness was obvious.

"I wonder why Jayden didn't come," Kevin said.

"He seemed to have something on his mind," Mia replied.

Despite how upset she was that Jayden refused the invitation to their day off, Emily responded, "He must be training. We don't know what he's training for, but it must be very important for him not to take a break."

How she could remain so optimistic, even when things were the worst, was beyond them.

Kevin seemed to agree and they walked in comfortable silence for about thirty more seconds before he burst, "Hold it! A Samurai never takes a day off! What if this is a test?!"

"Calm down," Mia said. "Mentor wouldn't be so careless."

"Yeah, if Mentor wanted us to stay, he would have said so," Mike added.

Taking deep breaths, he heard Emily add, "And I don't think Jayden will ever take a break until every single Nighlock in the Sanzu River is defeated. That's just the kind of guy he is."

Dedicated.

That was the very first quality she began to admire about him.

Mike nodded, agreeing with Emily, if only to get this party started. "Now, let's go, you stick in the mud. The rides are a-waitin'!"

After riding some roller coasters, playing some carnival games, and bumping into a couple of guys with a giant stuffed panda, the four vacationing Rangers finally sat down to lunch, burgers, fries, and sodas, well, milkshakes for Emily and Kevin.

While eating, Emily kept glancing down at the mini stuffed lion she won at one of the games, in her hand, resting on her lap. Mike helped her win it, but the lion reminded her of Jayden, the only person their group was missing. She was planning on giving this to him as a gift.

Jayden must be training, she was said. She admired his dedication, but she wished he could take a break every now and then.

A few screams interrupted her train of thought and the conversation between the other three. They sat there, confused, until someone yelled out, "Monster!"

Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, but that was their cue. Finishing off the last of their lunch, throwing their trash on the way out, the four Rangers headed off into battle.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

The atmosphere was no longer happy or relaxing. It was tense and very sad.

"Man…we got our butts kicked…" Mike said, sitting down in his chair around the Gap Sensor table.

"I don't mean to sound like that Nighlock, but our spin swords and symbol power, were, well…useless," Mia added.

'It's all useless, my dear!' Dreadhead had said to Emily during the fight. 'Eventually, the curtains will be lifted and it will all be hopeless!'

It was true. Her fighting against her destiny, trying to hide it from the other Rangers…it was meaningless, useless.

"N-No," she said aloud, refusing to raise her gaze from the ground. "We have to keep going. We have to find a way."

Even though it brought the others' spirits up, she mainly said this to cheer herself up, but to no avail.

"Emily's right," Mentor replied. "You can't give up. Find a way, and the darkness will be lifted from your path."

But Emily couldn't see the path or the light. All she could see was darkness. How was she supposed to find a way when all of the possible ways were hidden from her too?

Jayden stood up, and revealed an orange disk. "This is the Beetle Disk. It's a secret disk the previous generations often used it battle."

"Awesome, so next time, you can use it," Mike said.

Everything she was trying wasn't working. There was no hope for her, after all.

"It's not that simple, Mike," Jii cut in. "In order to use it, you need twice the symbol power you have now. After the tenth generation, the disk kind of fell out of place. No one from then on could ever really master it."

Her hands were trembling. She really couldn't go on. She supposed it was time to reveal her secret. Tears filled her eyes, as she opened her trembling mouth to speak, but it seemed Jayden beat her to it.

"I promise you, I will not stop until I master this disk, until every single Nighlock in the Sanzu River is defeated. I won't let you down," Jayden promised them.

Emily allowed a smile to cross her face as his words sunk into her soul.

Even if there wasn't a way hidden in plain sight, sure there was one deeper inside than those on the surface. All she had to do was keep looking, keep going.

Never give up.

She straightened her posture, her courage and determination slowly rising as she made her resolve.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**January 28, 2012**_

**Main Street, Panorama City**

Emily raced out with the others when the Gap Sensor sounded. They met Dreadhead while in town. He didn't see them yet, as his back was turned, but before they caught his attention, they had a little talk amongst themselves.

"Do you think Jayden killed himself over training last night?" Mike asked Mia.

"No," it was Emily who answered. "Jayden'll come. Have faith. Let's just focus on protecting the city until he gets here."

"You're right, Em," Kevin said. "Mia, do you think you can sense some wind his way to catch his attention?"

"I most certainly can," Mia replied. _"Symbol Power: Wind!"_

Dreadhead stumbled, but got back up when Kevin said, "Hey, Useless!"

"Hey, you stole my word!" He held up his blaster, ready to attack.

"_Go, go, Samurai!"_

Their morph blocked the blasts sent their way.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**January 29, 2012**_

**Rainbow's End, Panorama City**

"I'm really glad Mentor gave us another day off," Emily voiced to Jayden the next morning.

"It's only fair, Em, since the last one didn't really count," Jayden replied. Jii had convinced him to go, and so far, he was glad he listened to the man. He and Emily were currently standing in line to the cotton candy stand. "We take days off to avoid work, not to meet it at lunch."

He heard Emily giggle, and the sound of her laugh made him smile.

"Y-You know, Jayden, I really admire your dedication," she said, a little nervous to be admitting it out like that. She could feel her face getting red. "Like the way you're able to stay so focused on the mission."

"Thanks, Em. That means a lot," she heard him reply. "And I really admire your optimism." She glanced over at him, a smile across her face. "Like the other day, after the first fight with Dreadhead, when everything seemed dark. You kept your eyes in the direction of the light. To me, that is dedication."

"R-Really?"

He nodded. "You pushed us back on track, Em. If you didn't, we'd still be fighting that Nighlock."

"And that means a lot to me. But dedication is nothing without a good vacation every now and then," she replied.

"Because without a bit of laying back and relaxing, we can't be at our best. We'd be tired and sore all the time from training and working. I understand that."

The two smiled at each other once more.

Jayden would be sure to have this problem again, but when that happened, Emily would be there to remind him how to fix it.

And she made another resolve that moment.

She would always be there for Jayden, just as he was for her.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please!

**Chapter 4: **_**4.1 – Speak Up**_

"_In this moment, she realized one very important thing: she honestly cared about them, more so than the usual citizen or companion. She was beginning to care about them as her own siblings."_


	4. Chapter 4: 4-1 - Speak Up

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_In this moment, she realized one very important thing: she honestly cared about them, more so than the usual citizen or companion. She was beginning to care about them as her own siblings."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 4.1: Speak Up**

_**February 10, 2012**_

**Panorama City Park**

Today's battle may have been hard, but the day itself turned out to be pretty good.

Who knew Jayden liked vanilla ice cream?

'_You also have a secret, and it's eating you alive!'_

'_I know the Nighlock said she was hiding something, but after what she said and did for us today, I'm going to side with Emily.'_

Mike was so close to making her confess, but the more they vowed not to let their insecurities control them, the more she cared for them.

She actually, genuinely, honestly cared about someone outside of her family, but not in a "stranger" sense.

For the first time, she felt like they were true friends, best friends, and not just roommates who were forced to hang out with each other just because in a five-way family tradition for the past three hundred years, for the past eighteen generations.

She felt that they were all finally coming together.

"Em, listen, about earlier," Mike was leaning sideways toward her.

"It's alright," she replied quickly. She didn't feel comfortable with Mike apologizing. He wasn't the one who was hiding a big secret. She was. "You were just curious."

She was smiling up at him, which he found weird. After all that happened to her today, did she really have the courage, the strength, to stand back up again?

"A-Are you sure you're okay? I mean, those were a lot of pretty hateful words…"

Emily gently sighed. "For the tenth time, I am fine. Words from a jerk don't hurt me. At all."

"Yeesh, what a dumb blonde," came an unfamiliar voice behind her. "She thinks she's so smart, acting all tough when she's so not."

Emily cleared her throat and turned around to see who was speaking.

It was a boy, same age as her, neither goth nor punk, nor anything else. He looked like…a loner, someone who didn't have many friends, if not any at all.

She knew that he was the one who insulted her, but she didn't hate him, not for that. Instead, she wondering he went wrong.

What could have happened to him that shattered his faith in humanity so easily? Where did he go wrong in life?

"And she's the shortest, too," the boy continued. "She must be the useless one. She's probably not good at anything but crying and whining."

Was this guy serious? Mike wondered. Emily was right there in front of him, able to hear every word he said.

"Excuse me," Mike said, as the boy turned his cold gaze upon him. "You _do_ realize she's right here, right? She can hear you."

"Mike, stop," Emily grabbed his arm. "It's okay. They're just empty words to me, remember?"

"Butt out of this, _stupid_," the boy interrupted. "You're so annoying and immature. Just stop talking."

And Mike hurtfully back off like a dog.

"Woah, woah," up stepped Kevin. "Let's all just try to calm down."

"You two, _black scum_. Just go back to the cotton fields were you belong."

And Kevin stepped down, but Mia came forward.

"And Asians think they're so smart. They love to rub it in. I wouldn't be surprised if she used _steroids_ to get herself like that." Jayden placed a hand on Mia's shoulder, as a gesture of comfort. "And anyone as cold and heartless as that guy is just a _monster_. He shouldn't be allowed to live." And the hand on Mia's shoulder, she felt, was gone.

One little boy nearly seemed to sense all the hatred in the air, all of the misery caused by this lone kid's need for revenge and started crying. Revenge for what? No one knew.

"Shut up!" The kid yelled. "You're so annoying!" The little boy only cried harder, and the kid growled.

"_Stop it_!" All went silent.

It was Emily.

She continued when no one else did, "What's wrong with you?" She couldn't let the lone kid yell at that little boy like that. Something had to be done. Justice had to be served.

"Me?" The boy asked, incredulously.

"Who else?" She politely shot back. "What's wrong with you? Do you honestly believe it's okay to bring others down like that? Doing that to bring yourself up is pathetic. Only a weak person would do such a thing."

"But no one understands me! You know _nothing_!"

"I know enough. You only think you're alone." She could see the sadness in his eyes, the pain, the hatred. No one should ever go through any pain at all.

_No one but her._

"No, I know I'm alone! I have no siblings, and my parents abandoned me when I was seven! So don't tell me what to do or think!" Emily was quiet for a moment, as if thinking.

"You see the _idiot_ behind me there?" Emily motioned her thumb at Mike. "Mike's naturally hyper, but he butts in not because he's curious, but because he cares." She motioned toward Kevin. "How about the _black scum_? Kevin is a very hard worker and very loyal to those he cares about. He's humble and that's why we look up to him." She went to Mia next. "_Miss Steriods_'s real name is Mia, and she is a very beautiful person both inside and out. You'd have to extremely self-centered not to see that." She pointed to Jayden last. "And the _heartless monster_ you just hurt? That's Jayden, and he's a hard feeling human being who lives and breathes just like you. Underneath that calm façade, he feels just as violently as you do. I know you want a family bad, but stop hurting mine to get what you want."

The boy was silent for a minute, as if thinking of comeback good enough to top hers.

"O-Oh, yeah? Well…I assume that all the things I said about you are true then. I mean, you didn't try to deny it…"

"Me?" Emily repeated. "I'm titanium. You can't hurt me."

This really seemed to take the cake for the boy. It rendered him speechless for about a minute or so, until he really went all out on her.

"What a freak!" He yelled at her, but Emily remained unfazed. "No words can hurt you? Yeah, right! You're so stupid!"

"I'm used to it."

It was because she already felt like dirt. She hardly had any self-esteem, if none at all. When someone insulted her, it was her low self-esteem that protected her. She thought so lowly of herself that others thinking the same about her left uncaring toward such behavior. Hearing hurtful words from others was like hearing other people agree with her.

And this successfully rendered the boy speechless.

"Now," Emily's face was hard, stern, yet sympathetic, caring. "I'd like you to apologize to everyone here."

"What will you do to me if I don't?" The boy sounded ready for his punishment.

"Nothing, it seems. Everyone here still looks pretty angry to me."

When the boy turned around and feverishly, yet sincerely, began apologizing to everyone, finally giving up his need for vengeance, with tears in his eyes (that he constantly denied having), Emily turned to her friends, all four of them displaying varying degrees of awe.

"Emily," Mia cautiously approached her. "Is that really what you think about us?" She personally felt touched that Emily would stand up against a stranger, against insults directed towards one of her teammates.

"I suppose you could say that," Emily replied, "But it is what I know. Over the past couple of weeks, I've learned so many things about you guys: habits, personal fashion, fighting styles, favorites and dislikes, and so on and so forth. People don't know personal things about mere strangers, especially if they've known each other for at least three weeks. Face it. We're more than just teammates."

It was hard not to feel as close to them as family.

"She's right," Mia turned to the three guys. "Don't you feel like we've become friends now?"

"Just add ice cream," Mike replied. It made the other Rangers laugh, and they continued to enjoy their ice cream, however melted it was now. Emily couldn't help but smile.

The others returned her smile and she knew that now, they were finally beginning to come together, that they really were beginning to feel like family.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please!

**Chapter 4: **_**4.5 – Fish Out of Water**_

"_The fate of the entire world rested on Kevin's shoulders, but it was their job to keep going, to not give up before he got there."_


	5. Chapter 5: 4-5 - A Fish Out of Water

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_The fate of the entire world rested on Kevin's shoulders, but it was their job to keep going, to not give up before he got there."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 4.5: Fish Out of Water**

_**February 24, 2012**_

**Shiba House**

Emily skipped down the hallway to the kitchen. She was happier than she remembered ever being. She didn't know why she was happy and ecstatic, but she knew this emotion felt great. She didn't want it to end.

Upon entering the kitchen, she cheerfully greeted Mentor Jii, who was currently in the process of making breakfast. But he did not reply.

Emily was disheartened a bit, but she shrugged it off, reasoning with herself that Jii was busy cooking breakfast for six people (and that was including himself). Mia entered the kitchen, and Emily said hello to her, but with her earphones in her ears, listening to music, it was apparent that Mia couldn't hear her either.

Mike and Kevin entered the kitchen next, chatting away like old friends, which was strange. They never got along this well, at least, when she was around. It was possible that they had moments like these at times, but it had to be when Emily was not in the room.

She tried to greet them, but they didn't hear her either. They were talking too loudly.

She noticed Jayden already sitting in the corner, reading a book. She went over to him, saying a light, yet cheery "Good morning" as she did.

No reply.

Not even a glance over his book.

But surely Jayden was too into his book to notice.

No, that wasn't quite right. It was obvious to even Emily that Jayden had a soft spot for the youngest Ranger. Reading or training, Jayden always replied when she spoke to him.

_Always._

And this confused the hell out of her.

What confused her even more was when Mike spoke up, speaking a gentle tone, one that didn't suit him at all, and said, "You know. I never thought I'd say this, but having just us five here is nice. I mean, Mentor Jii, you're a role model to us all. You work so hard, but you get so little in return." Jii smiled at him, a sincere smile, which crossed the line for Emily.

Something weird was going on here.

"Mike, are you feeling okay? Kind and genuine isn't like you," Emily asked.

Mike continued on, as if Emily had no spoken at all. "Jayden's a great leader. Kevin's a great motivator. Mia's so strong and awesome."

Emily waited for Mike to say something about her, but it never came.

"And me, myself, and I? Well…I could not have asked for a better team."

Emily glanced over at the strip of pictures hanging over the sink, one Jii had put after their first day out together, the day after the fight with Scorponic. There was a photo booth, and Mia and Mike had dragged the other three Rangers over to it. Needless to say, once Kevin stopped being such a stick in the mud, they had a lot of fun, and they had given the picture strip to Jii, as proof that they were finally starting to get along.

She was missing from the picture. She, Emily Suzuki, was.

And it all clicked into place.

The reason they ignored her was because she didn't exist. She was just someone lost in the folds of time.

She had to fix this somehow. _Where did all of this go wrong?_ She had to build a time machine. _How long was this going on?_ Something, anything to help her fix all of this.

"You can't fix even a second, my puppet."

Emily whirled around, coming face to face with Master Xandred.

"This all with the First Generation of the Samurai Rangers," Xandred continued, watching her squirm and fidget. "Your ancestor, Ruki, was never born. And thus, neither was your mother, or your sister, or you." He placed his claw-like hands on her shoulders and held her steady. "Look at them having such a good life without you." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It will be like this when you finally face your destiny, my puppet. You'll be gone, but they won't care. They won't miss you. They won't even know you're gone."

Emily closed her eyes, trying to get all of this out of her head.

"_NOO!"_

Emily's eyes snapped open. There she was, lying in her bed at the Shiba House, in a cold sweat, eyes widened, and her skin pale. Tears were also running down her face.

Just a dream. All it was, Emily Suzuki, was a nightmare. None of it was real.

She wasn't fully convinced however, but when she exited her room and ran into Jii, she felt a little better.

"Oh, Emily. Good morning." Emily gave off a small smile as she nodded. He didn't sound not-happy to see her. He lowered his voice. "Mia's cooking in the kitchen, and it smells…well…" they both sniffed, and Emily immediately winced. "Yeah, you get it. Anyways, breakfast is in the meeting room today. The guys should already be there."

Emily nodded and they went their separate ways. She cautiously approached the doorframe, and stepped into the brighter light. There was Kevin weighing his breakfast with exact precision and Jayden was setting the milk down on the table. It looked like he had already gotten his breakfast.

She sighed calmly with slight relief, and she took one step forward before she felt a sudden set of claws in her sides.

"_RAAAWWWRRR!"_

She didn't scream, but she heard a loud "Omph!", which cut off the roar.

She saw Kevin wince and Jayden grimace.

Emily turned around, only to see Mike kneeling on the floor, holding his stomach in pain. "Oww…" he slightly whimpered.

She lightly gasped. "Oh my God, Mike, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

She had socked him hard in the gut.

Mike waved off her concern. "Y-Yeah. Fine. You sure do pack a punch."

"That's what you get, Mike," she heard Jayden comment. "I told you scaring her like that was bad idea."

Emily held out a hand and Mike took it. As she held Mike stand up, he replied, "It was only meant as a joke, Em, but I'm sorry for scaring you that. If you really scares you that much, like if something tragic happened in your past, then I swear, I won't do it again."

She sent him a little smile. "Sorry, Mike. Again. Frozen peas?"

Mike shook his head. "Nah, it doesn't hurt all that much anymore. But thanks."

Mike sat down next to Kevin, while Emily leaned forward to grab a glass of orange juice and some toast.

And that little exchange, however frightening, gave her relief. What was she worried about? They would never forget her. She had already made a big impact in their lives. She was the one who helped bring them together as friends, after all.

She noticed Kevin grabbing a spoonful of granola and placing it into his cereal. Jayden raised an eyebrow, Mike kept looking at him like he knew something and wanted tease him, and Emily just gave him the _'are-you-crazy' _look.

It appeared the three were thinking the same thing, something Kevin was suddenly aware. It was like he sensed their stares, and he looked up and around.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked. "Just eat already."

"There's a right way to do everything within the Samurai code," Kevin replied as-a-matter-of-factly.

Emily rolled her eyes and Mike said, "Wow, you're so wound up, I'm surprised you can digest your food."

Mia made her entrance. "I came up with a new recipe." Jayden glanced up as Mia set the covered plate on the table. "Everyone likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, right? So what could be better than a PB and J omelet?" She uncovered the plate, and Emily immediately retreated.

It didn't even look like an omelet.

"Darn. I'm stuffed," Mike made a quick excuse. "I just ate. Rain check?"

Mia bought this and turned to Kevin, who stammered around and poured his orange juice onto his cereal.

Emily rolled her eyes again. So much for Kevin's perfect breakfast.

"Precision and discipline, huh?" Mike asked, sarcastically.

"Everyone, I have excellent news," Jii came in. "The missing Swordfish Zord has been spotted at Limatore Beach."

"A swordfish?" Mia asked, confused. She'd never heard of it.

"A zord that went missing action years ago," Jii replied which one of his famous, quick explanations. "If we don't capture it now, who knows when we'll get another chance?"

Jayden was about to speak when the Gap Sensor went off. He stood up and everyone dropped what was in their hands down on the table, as Jii said quietly, "Waterfront Warehouse."

Jayden was silent for a minute, which meant he was quick-thinking. "Kevin. Go to Limatore Beach and get that swordfish. The rest of us will handle the Nighlock."

Kevin nodded. "I won't let you down."

And the five Rangers went their separate ways.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Waterfront Warehouse**

She was useless again. Yamiror had just retreated, and she lying on the ground beside Jayden and Mia.

She was first motivated to fight when they encountered the man in the parking garage, next to his car.

She got angrier when Mike was down, but Jayden had already stepped forward.

But then Jayden went down, and Emily, while checking him over, pondered over her usefulness, or lack thereof. During the fight with Negatron, she resolved to never be useless during a fight, and she remembered upon observing Jayden lying there of the ground in front of the warehouse, sick as a dog, so got up and fought.

But it turned out to be all for not.

And along with Mia, she was sent to the ground, in the same position as Jayden and Mike, all four of them deathly ill due to Yamiror's toxic breath.

Emily's hand slowly clenched into a fist.

She was useless after all.

This only made her angrier, but her anger only fueled the temperature of her fever, causing it to rise, and she felt more sick. But it was like a cycle, the sicker she felt, the angrier she got, which only made her fever worse.

The ground below began to wobble and blur as she tried to stand up. "God…dammit!" She cursed aloud, not caring who heard her.

Her fever was too high.

The ground rushed back up to greet her like an old friend.

She couldn't open her eyes. Her body was weak, sweaty.

Her resolve…her promise to protect her friends no matter what…she couldn't keep it.

She had failed.

She felt fingers on her neck, checking her pulse. Despite not seeing him, she knew who it was.

"Emily, are you alright? I saw you collapse."

Yep. She knew it.

"M-Mentor…that Nighlock…he has the power to make people sick." She violently coughed. "Just one inhalation of his toxic breath…" she coughed again, "is enough to make a Ranger de-morph…"

She was able to open her eyes, even if it was just for a minute. After about a minute or two, she felt the world around her swirl and saw it blur and darken.

"Mike…he's up on Level 4." Jii glanced up at the parking garage and then back down at Emily. "Treat the others first…don't worry about me…"

"Emily!"

But that was the last thing she heard before she finally gave in to the darkness.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Recovery Room**

Emily stirred and opened her eyes again to the Shiba House. There was a cold compress held against her forehead, and she now noted her headache.

That and the Gap Sensor was flashing.

She lightly groaned before hearing the following conversation.

"Kevin, we have an attack. Jayden, what are you doing?"

"You heard the Gap Sensor. There's a Nighlock to fight."

"You can't defeat a Nighlock in your condition."

"Maybe not, but at least, I can slow him down."

"Just wait until Kevin comes home with the Swordfish Zord. I bet it can cure all of your fevers. Kevin–!"

"Kevin, Mentor's exaggerating." Emily deducted, in her weak state, that Kevin must be on the phone. "Don't worry about me. Stay focused on your mission. I didn't randomly choose you for this mission. I chose you because of your commitment and discipline. I know you can overcome any obstacle." After a short silence, Jayden continued, "I'll take care of the Nighlock."

And the conversation was over.

In his condition? Was Jayden serious? Or had he gone crazy?

Emily just knew that was what Jii was thinking right now.

But she knew better. Jayden was headed in the right direction.

He may have been sick, but not only was he continuing to fight (never give up), but he had the utmost faith in Kevin. He just knew Kevin would succeed in catching that swordfish.

Maybe the reason she failed was because she wouldn't, and/or didn't even think about letting the others help her fight. Maybe it was because she didn't trust that they could hold up on their own.

So that was real teamwork.

Jayden was headed in the right direction, and she wasn't.

Not anymore.

Emily swung her legs over the bed and stood up slowly, wanting her blood to circulate smoothly.

She could still protect her friends, but this time, she would trust that they would never let her down. They would keep standing up and keep fighting, just like Jayden did.

She stumbled toward the doorframe, not noticing Mike and Mia's heads popping up to see what she was doing.

She would help Jayden fight, and she would help him keep faith that Kevin would come in time to fix this whole mess together.

As a team.

"Emily, where are you going?" Jii demanded.

"To give Jayden a hand…" was her reply, and he let her leave it at that, as he watched her leave.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**City Square**

With Mike and Mia hot on her tail, Emily led the group to where the Gap Sensor detected the Nighlock.

Jayden was knocked on the ground, his sword lying a few feet away. He looked too weak to get up. Mike sent a flying kick to Yamiror when it tried to attack Jayden again.

Jayden glanced at who just saved him. Mike was kneeling on the ground in front of him, holding his stomach in pain. Mia was standing over Mike, in a world of pain of her own, trying to help him stand. Emily was kneeling beside him, supporting him front behind.

"You shouldn't be here!" He called. "You're sick!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Mike called back. "And you're as fit as a fiddle?! We can't let you have all the fun!"

"Emily reminded us that we can't just sleep at a time like this. The fate of the world comes before our health," Mia added, more gently than Mike.

"You guys…" Jayden muttered, taking a quick glance at Emily.

Emily said nothing, but her eyes were burning with the fire of determination. If supporting Jayden from behind, so he wouldn't fall back down, helped them win this fight, then so be it.

Jayden turned back to face in front of them. Yamiror was getting back up, about to shoot the blasts from his eyes.

"Watch out!"

Mike and Mia covered themselves, while Emily covered Jayden with her body. Jayden, at least, needed to keep going. They had to win this fight.

They braced themselves for multiple hits, but they never came.

Emily caught sight of a blue folding dragon heading towards her left, and the four Rangers turned to the source.

"Kevin," Jayden breathed.

Kevin, their Blue Ranger, gently smiled at them, not saying anything, but holding up the blue Swordfish Disk.

As the Swordfish Rain came down upon them, Emily whispered, smiling, "We're gonna win. I just know it."

And what do ya' know?

She was right.

And they did it using _real_ teamwork: the utmost faith and absolute trust in each other.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Limatore Beach**

Emily headed back to the beach, barefoot, as Mike and Mia continued splashing each other with water. Kevin was taking off his shoes and socks and he was running, and it looked like he was going to join them in their water fight. She giggled as Kevin got Mike and Mia both, and then again when Mia and Kevin teamed up to take down Mike.

She heard Jayden chuckle beside her.

She turned to him. "Come on, Jayden. Join us." She nodded her head in the direction of the water.

"Later. Water doesn't exactly agree with fire."

"True, but…" he silenced himself, knowing that whenever Emily faded out like that, she was about to confess something personal to him, "I was only able to get into the fight today because of your conversation with Jii and Kevin. Your determination just…strengthened my resolve."

Jayden untied his shoes, ready to head into the water. He set it down in the rock beside everyone else's' shoes, and he was headed in that direction, but he stopped beside Emily and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Just remember to keep on fighting, Emily. Don't ever give up."

She smiled back at him and chased him into the water, the two of them beginning the free-for-all that would have them all soaked to the bone by the time they got back to the Shiba House.

Jii would freak out and mumble left and right about "pneumonia" and how it was "so easy to catch" as he helped them get warm, but the five Rangers would admit the same thing.

"_It was worth it."_

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please!

**Chapter 6: **_**6.1 – Letting the Storm Die Down**_

"_It wasn't necessarily what Kevin did while under that spell that was the issue, but rather, the inhumane method Emily used to bring him back, one that Jayden was originally going to do instead."_


	6. Chapter 6: 6-1 - Let the Storm Die Down

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_It wasn't necessarily what Kevin did while under that spell that was the issue, but rather, the inhumane method Emily used to bring him back, one that Jayden was originally going to do instead."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 6.1: Letting the Storm Die Down**

_**March 15, 2012**_

**Johnson Construction Site, Forest Boundary**

"No! I can't!" Kevin wailed as Mike and Mia tugged on his arms repeatedly.

"Come on!" Mia tried to get him to get on his feet, but no avail.

"No! I have fought against a fellow Ranger! I have betrayed you all!"

Mike rolled his eyes and let go of Kevin's arms. "You're so annoying! Maybe he's right. Maybe we leave him here."

Mia refused to let go. "No! We can't do that!"

"What if I…had severely injured Emily? And left her paralyzed?"

Jayden and Emily, both stopped in front of them, halted their thoughts immediately, all five of them thinking of what could have happened.

"Or what if I…killed her?"

Emily turned to face her back to them, unwilling to show her possible tears.

"My God…" Kevin whispered, unable to take the said thought.

Jayden took a deep breath before replying, "Kevin…infusing you with that much Symbol Power could have killed you. Though it was Emily who used the disk to save you, I was the one who made it. As such, I was the one who gambled with your life. If you ought to be mad at anyone…it should be me…"

Emily paused, letting a single tear fall down.

Would she have gone along with her plan to fight Kevin if she knew about this?

Jii had said that Jayden's true strength was the kind that showed on the battlefield. Using an inhumane method to break a Nighlock's spell, and being willing to do it…that showed true strength. Actually, it was more Jayden who saved Kevin, rather than her.

Would she have done it anyway if she had known about this?

No one spoke for a quite a long time, save for Jayden saying two simple words, but those words meaning a lot to the other four.

"I'm sorry."

More tears poured down Emily's face, and he was even strong enough to admit it.

But those who said Jayden didn't have a heart were dead wrong. All of this proved to them otherwise.

"Trust me," Emily spoke up. However softly, they knew she was serious. "Even if I did know about that, it wouldn't have changed anything. That would not have stopped me. I still would have found a way to bring you back, Kevin. Upon my own life, I still would have saved you."

Kevin and the others watched her as she walked away.

They knew perfectly well that Emily would stand up against a stranger's insults directed towards her friends for her friends. They even knew she would fight a Nighlock for them, to protect them. And now they knew:

She would have sacrificed her own life to save Kevin's soul from Madimot's spell.

To Jayden, that was true strength. That was real courage.

Even though it hurt her severely to fight Kevin as fiercely as she did, she sucked it up and fought back. However inhumane the method, even if she didn't know about it or if it would work, she still used it.

"Even now…after all of this…" Jayden spoke softly, "Emily is still the strongest person I know."

And he started walking after, following her back home.

Mia and Mike did the same.

And eventually, Kevin allowed himself to feel better and followed suit.

Jayden was right. Emily was strong.

Maybe they could learn something from Emily, after all.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

Sorry it's so short! I got this idea from watching the end of Shinkenger Act 9. I found it very touching and thought to include it, so…voila!

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! This next chapter will be one of my definite favorites. Check it out:

**Chapter 7: **_**9.3 – Unexpected Arrival**_

"_Emily never knew she had protective instincts this strong until now, when Jayden appeared to be the only one capable of sensing this Nighlock, but never seeing it. And that mysterious fisherman wasn't making things any easier."_


	7. Chapter 7: 9-3 - Unexpected Arrival

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_Emily never knew she had protective instincts this strong until now, when Jayden appeared to be the only one capable of sensing this Nighlock, but never seeing it. And that mysterious fisherman wasn't making things any easier."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 9.3: Unexpected Arrival**

_**June 16, 2012**_

**Shiba House**

Jii glanced up as the Rangers entered the Shiba House. "That was fast," he commented.

"Doesn't take long to deal with nothing," Mike replied.

Jii raised an eyebrow, and Kevin elaborated, "The Gap Sensor was working just fine, but no Nighlock showed up. We didn't sense anything out of the ordinary."

Emily knew for a fact that this wasn't entirely true.

'_Jayden, what's wrong?'_

'_Thought I felt something, like someone watching me, but it's gone now.'_

Jayden had picked something up at the river. The others hadn't, but Jayden sure did.

This Nighlock was after Jayden. Sure, Robtish was after Jayden, too, but Emily felt as though this one was different somehow. She didn't know why or how, and that's what bugged her.

The six residents heard a thunk outside, and Jayden shared a look with the others before heading outside. He came in a few seconds later, a suspicious look on his face.

He was holding an arrow, with a piece of paper with the shaft running through it.

"It just says 'See you soon'."

"What?" Mia asked. "A Nighlock attack?"

"No," Jii replied. "Not here at least. This House is protected by defensive symbols."

"And they're doing a good job. I mean, someone shot this arrow," Mike said, taking the arrow from Jayden. He took a soft sniff. "There's something fishy about this."

"Obviously," was Emily's response. Somehow, her protective instincts had just raised even higher, higher than before.

"No, there's really something fishy," Mike said. "Smell."

Emily took one whiff of the paper and retreated at once. Giving Mike and confused and suspicious look, she couldn't help but wonder if the arrow and the Gap Sensor were connected.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

"Where are you?!"

Currently training, Emily's concentration was ruined by a yelled-out question. Mike ran to Jayden's room, the course, followed by Kevin, then Mia, and then herself.

"Jayden, what's up?" Mike asked. He was the first one there, his Samuraizer in hand.

"Something's here!" Jayden replied. Kevin entered the room soon after. "There, did you feel that?"

"No, what did you feel?" Kevin asked, a book in his hand, as Mia and Emily entered the room.

"Shhh!" Jayden swiftly silenced them, then pointing at a nearby closet. His Samuraizer was on, ready to write a symbol at the blink of an eye.

He slowly walked over to the closet, glancing back at his teammates. They were ready. Kevin and Mia glanced at each other, worried and confused.

Jayden turned back to the closet, slowly reached out for the handle. He quickly opened the closet door.

A dummy fell to the ground in front of them, and the five screamed, in their own unique way.

Mia tried to laugh it off. "Don't scare us like that."

Emily only glanced at Jayden worriedly.

"I could have sworn there was something," Jayden muttered. Though unspoken, Emily knew that he had just apologized.

"Relax, dude, there's nothing here," Mike tried to reassure him.

"No, there was definitely something other-worldly here," Jayden replied, beginning to pace. "I sensed it."

"Sorry, Jayden. We didn't sense anything. Could it have been your imagination?" Mia asked.

Jii had entered the room when no one was looking. "Jayden, it's your important to trust your instincts, but I don't feel another presence."

Jayden didn't reply. He only wrote a symbol, and there appeared his sword.

Emily jumped, gasping. Jayden's sword was right in her face.

Jayden turned to see where his sword wound up, and he softened up considerably, as her hazel eyes connected with his. "Sorry, Em…" he muttered.

He did not just almost kill Emily. He did not. He was not going crazy.

And the other vie residents watched as Jayden stalked out of the room, his sword in hand.

His four teammates and his mentor watched him as he walked all throughout the house.

"He's really got that flipping out thing down pat, huh?" Mike asked.

"Does anybody else feel anything?" Kevin asked.

Mia, Jii, and Mike shook their heads.

But Emily replied, "He's not crazy." She was surprisingly calm, especially after what just went down between her and Jayden. The others looked at her. "I can sense it too. Barely, but I can."

It appears that her own instincts were correct. This Nighlock was after Jayden, after all.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Sanzu River, Junk Ship**

Octoroo knocked on the door. He opened it when he heard a "Come in."

"Vulpes, how are you doing?"

"Just fine. He's officially freaked out. He can sense me, but that's no biggie. However, it's gotten a little tricky, because the Gem can sense me too. Who knows what she'll do?"

"The boss wants the Sealing Symbol as soon as possible. I don't care what it takes. Just don't hurt the Gem," Octoroo replied. "You know what the boss'll do to you if you do."

"I know, I know. Do not worry," Vulpes said. "I will not."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**June 17, 2012**_

**Panorama City, Waterfront**

The next morning, the other four had left Jayden to try and relax.

Kevin picked up the Gap sensor again. "There really isn't anything wrong with the Gap Sensor. Are you sure he's not going crazy, Emily?"

This was the fiftieth time they had asked her for confirmation. "Yes, I'm positive. The Nighlock may be after Jayden, but I can still sense it just fine." She paused.

"Emily?" Mia asked.

"Something's here…" she muttered.

"Where is it?" Mike asked her.

Emily held up a single finger to silence them and paused again. "Now, it's gone."

Kevin threw his hands up in defeat. Mike tried to calm him down by giving him a pat on his shoulder.

"But, I know where it went," Emily continued, and Mia smiled at Kevin. "Follow me."

She led the other three Rangers up the stairs to higher ground, where she was held back by a fisherman, who handed her a flyer, saying, "Hey, sweetheart, wanna buy some fish?"

Emily smiled back at the guy, before turning back to the flyer.

"So? Where to now?" Mike asked her.

"It's definitely in this area," Emily replied, somewhat distracted by the flyer. "Just look around and stand guard."

"Emily?" Mia asked.

"Keep your guard up," the girl warned.

"Is something wrong, Emily?" Kevin asked her.

"Mia, can I see the paper with the arrow?" Emily requested. "Please?"

"Sure, but…why?" Mia inquired, as she forked over the paper.

"Nothing of major concern," Emily replied, calmly, taking a look. "Just go. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious."

"Okay…" The other three weren't entirely convinced, but they went on to investigate anyway. Emily turned back to the fisherman.

She cleared her throat and held up the flyer he gave her. "Hey, you make these flyers yourself?"

He glanced at her, and smiled, "Yep. I'm a one man business."

"Well, it sure is nicer to have one handed to you than shot at you, don't you think?" Emily asked holding up the other piece of paper as well.

"Oh, for sure…" He paused when he realized one thing. "W-Wait a minute…you're…"

"That's right," Emily's voice was now laced with sheer poison. "I'm your worst nightmare. Now, tell me the truth, Nighlock. What do you want with Jayden?"

"You know Jayden?" The fisherman asked.

"I believe I should be asking you that," Emily bit back. "How do you know Jayden?"

The fisherman suddenly grabbed Emily by the arm. His grip was tight.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

"Emily?" The other three had heard her yell, and when they saw Emily being dragged away by the fisherman, they began to chase after her.

The fisherman glanced at the running trio. He glanced down at his ice box, and back up at the trio. When they got close enough, the fisherman kicked and tipped the ice chest over. Emily watched as her three fading-in-the-distance friends slipped on the ice and fell over onto their backs.

The fisherman had bolted from the scene, and Emily had a really hard time catching up with him.

"He's so fast," Mia commented, as Kevin picked up a dead, cold fish from his leg and disgustingly dropped it away from him.

"Damn that guy!" Mike angrily muttered. "What does that guy want with Emily?"

Mia glanced down at the flyer and the arrow paper Emily had dropped when the fisherman bolted with her in forced tow. "I think I know why Emily approached him in the first place. Look at the two papers." Kevin and Mike did so. "The handwriting is the same."

"So we found the guy who shot the arrow," Mike concluded, and Mia nodded.

Kevin's Samuraizer rang, and he picked it up. "Hello? Yeah. Don't worry, Mentor. We'll be there in no time." And Kevin hung up.

"Well? What did Mentor want?" Mia asked.

"Jayden's gone to Spring Valley to fight the Nighlock alone," Kevin replied. "Okay. Mia, you and I will head over to help Jayden. Mike, you go after that fishy arrow guy and rescue Emily. When you do, you two come on over to Spring Valley."

Mike nodded, and the three went their separate, designated ways.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Waterfront Warehouse**

"Let me go before I smash a rock in your face!"

The fisherman immediately released his grip. He cowered under Emily's glare, slightly intimidated.

"What is your problem?" She asked him. She was taking deep breaths. He had been way too fast for her to keep up with him.

"Look," the fisherman replied, shakily, his hands up in defense. "I know you think of me as a Nighlock, and I know you want answers, but you need to give me a chance to explain myself."

"Alright. Convince me. Convince me that you're not the Nighlock that's been stalking Jayden." Emily folded her arms, her glare piercing his soul.

"Look, I know you're the Yellow Ranger, which means Jayden must be your leader," the fisherman replied. "W-Wait a minute…Jayden's being stalked by a Nighlock?"

But he sounded genuinely surprised. "Yes." But she needed to keep her guard up. Somehow, this guy knew all about the Power Rangers and about Jayden. "Only he can sense it. But you still haven't convinced me."

"Oh, right. Convince you," the fisherman said. "I am Antonio Garcia, fisherman and…your Gold Ranger."

"Gold?" Emily repeated. "We don't have a Gold Samurai. There are only five of us."

"Well, now, there are only five of you," Antonio replied. "But, I only arrived yesterday, and I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to let you know that I'm on your side."

"And you thought that shooting an arrow at our house was the perfect way to get our attention?" Emily asked, not entirely buying it.

"I-I know it was not the best idea, and it may have been perfect for me at that time, but I'm not the brightest fish in the sea," Antonio replied. "But, look! I am on your side! I swear!"

"How do you know Jayden?" Emily repeated.

Antonio paused, glancing into her eyes. Her hazel eyes were glaring at him, but, gosh, they were beautiful. He could see why it would be if Jayden fell for her, if he hadn't already. He didn't know how long Jayden's had his team. "I'm his childhood friend. I'm sure that if you asked him, he would tell you that."

Emily paused, searching back into her memories of the conversations she had with Jayden. He never mentioned anything about having a childhood friend.

"He's never mentioned you, actually," Emily slowly replied.

"Oh, well…" Antonio stuttered.

"But, you've actually convinced me." Antonio glanced back at her, a little surprised.

"I did?"

"Yes, you did," she replied. "I can't sense any evil in you, and you actually appear to believe what you're saying. So…I believe you."

"Really? So you'll let me prove myself?" Emily nodded. "And you'll give me a chance?"

"Well, you've got to prove yourself first. When you do, and we like you, I will do everything in my power to make you our Sixth Ranger. I promise," Emily said.

"Really?" Emily nodded again. "Sweet. Thank you so much, uh…you never told me your name."

"Emily Suzuki, Samurai Yellow. And I believe everyone deserves a chance."

Antonio smiled at her, and then said, "You know, Jayden should go out with you." Emily felt a blush creep across her face. "You two seem like a good match for each other."

"Emily?!"

Antonio jumped out of his skin. Emily turned to the direction from where the voice came.

"That's Mike. The others are probably looking for me," Emily said. "Go on and hide. Knowing Mike, he'll probably kill you."

Antonio did as she asked, just as Mike burst through the door, his sword in hand. "Emily!"

"Mike! Are you and the others okay?" She asked, running up to him.

"Forget about us, are you okay? Where'd that guy go?" She knew he meant Antonio.

"It's alright. I got out of his grip, and he kept running, so I chased after him. He was too fast, so I lost him here," Emily replied. She knew she was lying, but in order to let Antonio prove himself, she had to protect him from the others before they killed him. "Where are Kevin and Mia, if I may ask?"

"Oh, they're helping Jayden fight that Nighlock at Spring Valley. Apparently, you were right about Jayden not being crazy. Jii said we're needed too. Kevin told me to rescue you before I head on over."

"Alright, then. Let's go."

Antonio watched as Emily and Mike ran out of the warehouse.

He supposed this was the time for his big moment.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Spring Valley**

The five Rangers were currently lying on the ground, de-morphed after Vulpes's "Fox Reflection Steal". Now, they were looking over at the side, facing the fisherman from earlier.

"Now, this…is a big moment," he said. "Man, this is gonna be so golden. Now, let's do this!"

"Wha…?" Vulpes was rightly confused.

"Who's this guy?" Mike asked.

"That's the guy who kidnapped Emily!" Kevin exclaimed.

"What?" Jayden asked for confirmation, clearly confused.

"What is he doing?" Mia asked.

"He's gonna get taken apart if he goes up against that Nighlock," Jayden retorted, sending a glance over at Vulpes. "But did he really kidnap you, Emily?"

"He tried," Emily replied, not taking her eyes off Antonio.

They were cut off, when Antonio pull a silver cell-phone out of his shirt pocket. "Samurai Morpher! Gold Power!" He was bathed in a golden light, and when it faded, there stood a Samurai decked in gold and blue spandex.

Emily blinked. Antonio really was telling the truth. He really had become the Gold Ranger.

"Gold is good to go!"

The others looked on with utter confusion.

"That's it? No, _'thanks for helping'_, or a little _'what, what'_? Oh, I get it. You need a minute. What can I say? When I make an entrance, it's go big or go home! Am I right?" Samurai Gold asked the others.

"Let me ask this again," Mike said. "Who is this guy?"

"Wow…" Emily said, apparently awestruck. "He's so sparkly."

"Don't worry," Gold told them. "You guys just sit tight. I'll handle this." He jumped up and when he landed, he was right in front of the other Rangers.

"Oh, come on! Now there's six of you?!" Vulpes wanted answers.

"I've never read about a Gold Ranger in the archives," Kevin said. "Jayden?"

"First I've heard of it," was the reply.

"I say we've probably done enough talking," Gold said. "Now, it's time for action." He lowered into a stance, one not usually used in the Samurai business.

"What kind of stance is that?" Vulpes laughed. "You're not worth my time, twinkle toes. I'll let these guys take care of you." From behind him came Moogers.

"My style's different, but it's all mine, baby," Gold retorted. "And as they'll see, there's plenty of strength behind it. Now, if we're done talking, Barracuda Blade!"

Oh. Emily realized that the fish-shaped item hooked to the back of his belt was his weapon.

It was only three seconds later, and all the Moogers that had charged at him had exploded.

"How'd he do that?" Mia asked. "He didn't even move!"

"Yes, he did," Jayden replied. "Just faster than the eye can see."

"I've never seen anything like it," Kevin commented.

"That was the legendary sheath-slash maneuver," Jayden explained.

"But that's impossible!" Kevin exclaimed.

"Not anymore," was Jayden's response.

"He's pretty fast, yo," Mike said.

The five continued to watch as the Gold Samurai fought the Moogers. Some shot arrows at him, but he cut them all in half like they were nothing. He charged at them now.

As they got up to keep watching him, Kevin commented, "The straight slash, the back-handed grip…such a strange technique…"

"Who cares how he does?" Emily asked them. "It's good." She couldn't take her eyes off of Antonio. So far, he was doing very well.

But when he suddenly slipped and fell out of a tree, then they got worried and they raced over.

"You okay?" Mia asked him, as they ran over.

But Gold held out a hand. "Stay back! I told you, I got this. Watch!"

And he got back up. And he charged at the Moogers once again.

Jayden and Emily stepped forward.

After destroying the rest of the Moogers, trees began to creek and fall on top of him.

Emily sighed in relief when Antonio rose up from the tree trunk pile unscathed. "Man, this thing's sharper than I thought."

Then, they watched as Gold took on Vulpes.

Until, he was pushed back. "Just a lucky shot."

"Not quite. _Fierce Fox Flock_!" Bats came out of Vulpes' shoulders and surrounded him.

"Uh-oh," Mike said. "Looks like our gold friend is in a jam. We need to help him out."

Jayden stepped forward. "_Spin Sword: Blazing Strike!_"

And the fire completely destroyed all of the bats.

Jayden landed beside Antonio. "_Exciente_!" Antonio exclaimed. "Hey, you're better than I remember!"

"Huh?" Jayden's confusion returned.

Maybe, he didn't remember Antonio at all, Emily surmised.

"But no time now. _Barracuda Blade_!"

And with multiple gold-colored slashes, Vulpes's first life was destroyed.

"Yeah, baby!" Antonio exclaimed. "When I promise a golden moment, I deliver!"

"What do you mean, I'm better than you remember?" Jayden asked. Antonio merely unsheathed his sword, and then sheathed it again.

"Just, woah…" Kevin exclaimed.

"Seriously, if someone doesn't tell me who this guy is, I think I'm gonna lose it," Mike said.

"You're definitely going to lose it," Vulpes shouted from above them. "You haven't see anything yet!"

Antonio fell on his behind. "Woah! No way!" He obviously wasn't expecting the second life.

"We'll deal with our gold friend later," Jayden replied. "First things first!"

"_Go, Go, Samurai! Mega Mode Power! Zords Combine! Air Strike Combination! Battlewing Megazord, We Are United!"_

"Woah!" Antonio exclaimed from the ground. "_Fantastico_!"

"Time for my ace in the fox hole! _Vulpes Veil_!" And the Nighlock had disappeared.

Emily tried to concentrate to see where he was.

"Where'd he go?!" Kevin asked.

"He's still there!" Emily exclaimed. "He's just invisible!" Yep, she found him. "He's on our right!"

There came a strike from that direction, then behind, and then from the left.

"How can we beat an enemy we can't even see?" Mia asked, as the Megazord took another hit from the left.

"We need to figure out a way to uncloak him!" Mike said.

"Better think of something quick!" Jayden exclaimed. "We don't have much time left! Ugh!" The Megazord had taken another hit from the right.

Then, a giant squid zord came out of nowhere and landed in front of them.

"Now, there's something you don't see every day," Mike said.

"It can't be," Jayden muttered. "The Octozord?"

Their gold friend had mega mode power too.

"He's got a zord too?" Mike asked.

"Could he really be one of us?" Kevin asked.

"Alright, Nighlock! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Antonio said. "_Octo Ink Cloud_!"

And the blank cloud had revealed the Nighlock and had de-cloaked him.

"Ah, nuts!"

"Gotcha!" Antonio exclaimed as the Octozord began to beat Vulpes's head with its tentacles.

"Now's our chance to get him!" Emily said. "Jayden?"

"Huh?" He seemed to have snapped out of a daydream.

"You okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, fine. Let's go. _Mega Blade, Activate_!"

"_Flying Slash!"_

And the second life was finally ended as well.

"Samurai Rangers, victory is ours."

"I guess he really did prove himself," Emily muttered.

"What was that, Emily?" Kevin asked. She turned to look at the others. Even with helmets on, she knew they were all looking at her.

"Oh…nothing…"

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Waterfront**

If was after the fight now, and Emily could tell that the others wanted answers.

"Hey, guys!" Gold said, waving to them. "Was that golden with a capital G or what?"

"Start talking," Kevin demanded. "What's your story?"

But they all retreated when Emily stepped in front of them. But her back wasn't facing them.

It was facing him.

"Stop it!"

"Emily, what are you doing? Did you forget that he kidnapped you?" Mike asked her.

"He didn't kidnap me," Emily replied. "He just took me over to the side to explain himself."

"You call grabbing your arm and running off with you 'taking you off to the side'?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, because he didn't hurt me," Emily retorted gently.

This didn't clear up the others' glares, however.

Time for her fallback plan. "Antonio, you said he would give you insurance."

"You know his name?!" Kevin asked her, somewhat offended.

"Yes," she retorted, before turning back to a reclining Antonio. "If what you said is really true, Antonio, I suggest you prove it."

Antonio knew then that she was right. Besides, he couldn't just stand there and watch Emily get beat up by her own teammates by defending him.

So he de-morphed.

"I really am on your side," Antonio replied, stepping in front of Emily. He glanced up at Jayden. "Tell 'em, Jay."

Jayden paused. "Is that really you, Antonio?" And he was smiling too.

Emily looked on his mild surprise. Guess Antonio really was telling the truth.

He and Jayden really did know each other back when they were kids.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

Jayden and Antonio really looked like they were enjoying this spar. Kevin, Mike, and Mia had gone to get themselves a snack from the nearby convenience store.

But Emily had stayed behind. She was content with just watching them interact.

Upon taking a break, Jayden said, "You've gotten good, Antonio. And we haven't seen each other in what, eight years?"

"Ten," Antonio corrected. "I counted every single day."

Jayden smiled.

And Emily suddenly had an insight to how much they missed each other. Ten years apart? That had to make Jayden eight years old when Antonio departed for whatever reason he did.

Again, those who said Jayden didn't have a heart were dead wrong. This proved them wrong once again, right here. This exchange between childhood friends…

It really was special to them, to both of them.

And Emily smiled too.

She grabbed two water bottles from within Antonio's cooler and carefully walked over there, to them. She didn't want to interrupt their moment, but remembering her resolution to help Jayden take breaks every now and then gave her courage to do so.

She held out the two water bottles to each of them. "Water?"

Jayden gave her a smile as he gratefully took it. Antonio took the one Emily held out to him too.

Taking a drink, Jayden spoke up again, "So…did you really kidnap Emily?"

"Well, yes and no," Antonio sounded a little nervous. "It's like she said. I just took her over to the side to explain myself. And relax, _mi amigo_. I did not harm a single hair on her head. Trust me."

"I do, don't worry," Jayden replied. "But just know that if you ever hurt her, let's just say that what you did to that Nighlock and those Moogers today is just a small fraction of what I will do to you."

"Man, you two are really protective of each other," Antonio said, not batting an eyelash. "She confronted me first because she wanted to know if and how I was hurting you by shooting that arrow yesterday. I didn't realize that you liked her too." Jayden and Emily both blushed like crazy, especially when he added, "You really should go out with her, Jayden."

Jayden and Emily snuck a glance at each other, as Antonio looked on while taking a sip from his water bottle, trying not to smirk.

He definitely knew a good match when he saw one.

And this one was no different.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 8: **_**9.4 – Room for One More**_

"_Defeating a Nighlock alone was child's play compared to this. Now, Antonio faces his greatest challenge yet: being accepted into the group. Will Emily keep her promise?"_


	8. Chapter 8: 9-4 - Room For One More

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_Defeating a Nighlock alone was child's play compared to this. Now, Antonio faces his greatest challenge yet: being accepted into the group. Will Emily keep her promise?"_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 9.4: Room for One More**

_**June 18, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

Mia glanced up at the clock after setting the jug of strawberry milk on the Gap sensor table. As she stirred the ingredients in her bowl with a wooden spoon, she rolled her eyes and sighed, "Antonio is late."

"Just because he was fast when he beat that Nighlock, Vulpes, doesn't mean he's fast at everything," Kevin cut in, sounded heavily annoyed.

Mike caught the irritation in Kevin's voice, and, not looking up from his handheld video game, called him out on it, "If I recall, Kevin, you were among the many of us in awe by that speed and his technique."

"Because we were being beat up by the Nighlock," Kevin quickly shot back. "We were desperate. But now that we're out of danger, we can focus more on who he really is."

"Did Antonio say anything to you, Emily, when he pulled you off to the side?" Mia asked their youngest member.

"Kidnapped," Mike corrected. It was highly obvious that he held a particular grudge against Antonio for that.

"Let it go, Mike," Emily calmly told him. "Let's see…he did say he was a fisherman."

"Makes sense," Mike replied. "That paper he shot did smell like fish and we did slip on some ice containing fish."

"He also mentioned that he wasn't the _'brightest fish in the sea'_," Emily added. "Oh yeah, and he did apologize for shooting that arrow at the House, by the way."

"That still doesn't erase that he did so," Jii pointed out. "Carry on, Emily."

"And he also added that, as his childhood friend, Jayden could vouch for him," Emily snuck a glance over at Jayden, who smiled back at her. "And that's a fact that I know for certain that's true."

"But how do we know we can trust him?" Kevin asked, bringing up an excellent point. "He could be a Nighlock spy."

"I didn't sense any evil intentions in him during our chat at that warehouse Mike found me in," Emily shot him down just as fast as he brought up the idea. "He seemed sincere, and he actually believed what he was saying."

"Yeah, _'he seemed'_," Kevin said. "_'Seemed'_ is the keyword here."

"Let it go, Kevin," Mia said, adding honey to her mixture. "Just give him a chance."

"You two really must have missed each other, huh, Jayden?" Emily asked him.

Jayden nodded, a fond smile across his face, as he reminisced upon his past.

"Has he changed at all?" Emily asked him. "Or is he still the same as he was ten years ago?"

Jayden shrugged. "No idea."

"When you talked to him, Emily, did he say he was bringing the Octozord?" Jii asked her.

"I'm…not sure," Emily replied. "Why?"

"Well, before Antonio moved away, Jayden gave it to him when I wasn't looking," Jii replied. "Jayden threatened to quit his Samurai training if I ever tried to get it back."

"Woah," Mike burst out a chuckle. "You gave him a zord? Dude, I never knew you had it in you."

"Truly reckless, Jayden," Kevin added, disapprovingly. "Knowing you."

"I was a little kid then," Jayden replied. "Eight years old. I didn't know any better."

"It must be nice to have a childhood friend like Antonio," Emily cut in, softly. "I only had Momma and Serena."

Mia looked up from her mixture of strawberry milk, honey, chicken, and carrots and sent Emily a sincere smile. "Well, you have us now, Em." This was like a chain. As soon as Mia said this, the other four occupants of the house sent similar smiles the Yellow Samurai's way.

Emily smiled back and nodded.

Her relationship with these guys was special for that very reason. They were her family now, her best friends in the entire world.

She only hoped that she could keep them as her best friends after her secret was revealed.

Her secret was what threatened to tear them apart. Knowing this left Emily's stomach tied up in tight knots, but despite the sickening feeling it caused, she still held onto this hope, however thin or small it was growing to be.

Suddenly the door opened and sneakers lightly screeched across the floor. Antonio Garcia slid into the House, holding a fishing pole and twirling it around like a sword. Emily glanced over at Jayden briefly, and she noticed that he was trying to hold it together. He was trying hard not to laugh.

She wasn't laughing, but she decided to look at this from a different angle. Antonio was not a Nighlock spy, no matter what Kevin said. He was Jayden's childhood friend, and a friend of Jayden's was a friend of hers. She trusted him, and he trusted Antonio, so why shouldn't she?

And she found herself trying not to laugh too.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Antonio spoke up, finally. "I'd like to introduce the Sixth Samurai, the Gold Ranger: me. Antonio Garcia." He spoke his name with a Spanish accent.

"And you thought I was cocky," Mike muttered to Jii. Jii nodded, knowing Mike had a point.

Antonio swung his fishing pole over his shoulder. "Jayden, please, allow me to join you in the fight against the Nighlock." He pulled on his fishing pole, and the other six occupants of the House heard a rip. "Uh-oh…" Antonio muttered, as he turned and gave the others a good view of his boxers.

A mild giggle burst out over the room. It was hard not to laugh. Even Kevin was smiling.

"That's not good," Antonio murmured, and looked up when he heard Mia try to stifle a laugh. "Don't worry. It's happened before. N-Not a lot or anything…"

Silently laughing, his face becoming red, Jayden struggled to speak. "C-Can you guys help him?" He stood up and whispered in Emily's ear the answer to her question earlier. "Nope. He hasn't changed one bit."

Jii followed him outside.

Once the laughter had died down, Antonio was sitting at the head of the table, and the other four Rangers were sitting on the sides. Jii came back in, leaving Jayden outside.

"So, how did you meet Jayden?" Mike asked.

"Well, I met him when I was eight and he was seven," Antonio replied, honestly, looking back upon those memories, remembering everything he could. "Mentor Jii here took him to a local fish market. I was the son of one of the vendors, and I helped my papa in any way I could."

Emily sensed some sadness behind that last sentence, when Antonio brought up his father. Something must have happened to his dad.

"While Jii bought fish from my papa, I interacted with Jayden. He was shy, at first, not really sociable, but those three minutes, we became good friends. I began going over to his house, this House, and we became best friends, even though this annoyed Jii here to hell and back, because I was distracting Jayden from his training." Jii nodded. He knew for a fact that this was true. "However, one year later, my dad had to move because of the business. On our last day together, Jayden handed me the Octozord, told me to keep it, and promised that when I returned, he would make me a Samurai."

A promise?

It was a child's promise, of course, but Emily could tell that this promise still meant the world to Antonio.

Jii turned the silver-colored morpher over in his hands. "How did you come across this?" He motioned to the morpher.

"Well, after I moved, I took to heart what Jayden told me about Samurai, so I began training, day after day after day. One day, about four years ago, I believe, I found this dusty old cell-phone down by a river. It was beat up, and in very bad shape, but I have this thing for tech. I put in back together and got it to work again, and through this, I found that I could communicate to the Octozord through texting. Even though, this phone couldn't text to any more phone numbers, I found that I could understand the Octozord, because I had unknowingly entered his frequency into the hard drive when I was reprogramming it. Later, I remodeled it and reformatted it, and that phone is what you see before you now."

"So you're some kind of techie?" Mike asked.

Antonio nodded. "It wasn't easy, but…I did it. Now, along with allowing me to morph, it can also call _your_ Samuraizers, but I need your frequencies first."

"We'll see," Jii cut in quickly.

"Well," Mike said, "If everyone else is okay with you being our sixth Ranger, I'm cool. And I will let you kidnapping Emily slide. She managed to convince us you weren't entirely at fault."

"Oh, that…" Antonio muttered. "I don't know. I was the one who pulled her to that warehouse. She wasn't at fault at all." Emily smiled at his sincerity.

"Antonio, I was the one who approached you," Emily cut in. "Mike is right. It wasn't entirely your fault."

"You know, it would be great to have you on the team," Mike said, holding his fist out to Antonio.

And Emily knew that Mike was hooked. He only did fist-bumps with people that he genuinely liked and really trusted.

Mia nodded at Mike's reply, enthusiastic. "Yeah, that's two Rangers down, three to go."

"Three down, two to go," Emily corrected. "He had me hooked since before he morphed in front of us."

"Yeah," Mike said, and Antonio met his fist-bump, but it was interrupted by Jii.

"No," Jii said. "This isn't a kid's game, Garcia. For now, I will keep this." And Jii slipped Antonio's morpher into the folds of his robe.

"What?" Antonio was outraged, and he jumped on the table. "That's mine! Give it back!" Kevin, Mike, and Mia jumped out of their seats to stop him, but Emily hesitated. Finally, getting up, she paused, a shadow out of the corner of her eye catching her attention.

She met eye to eye with Jayden. And she could read every emotion he was feeling at that very moment.

And she found that those emotions were very, very familiar. But where had she seen them before?

Luckily, the little brawl was interrupted by the Gap Sensor, and Antonio fell straight to the ground.

Everyone else gathered around the Gap Sensor table. Jayden joined them. "Second Street, Freeway underpass. Let's go."

"Wait, Jayden!" Antonio called out, still on the floor. Jayden did stop, but he did not turn around to face Antonio and take a good look at the tears forming in the sixth Samurai's eyes. No one faced Antonio. They all faced Jayden.

All accept Emily.

"Jayden, please Antonio softly cried out again. "Let me fight with you guys."

Emily heard Jayden take a deep breath before replying, coldly, "Sorry, Antonio, but Jii is right. This isn't a kid's game. People can get hurt. People can die…I'm sorry."

Jayden exited the Shiba House with the other three in tow. Only Emily hesitated to leave Antonio behind.

They met eyes, and Emily felt a striking pain in her heart. 

And it lasted long after Antonio broke his gaze.

Emily felt tears in her eyes, threatening to fall, as she reluctantly exited the Shiba House as well.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Second Street, Freeway Underpass**

Jayden watched as Steeleto disappeared in a flash of red. He finally relaxed when the red flash was gone, and the Nighlock with it, and he turned back to his fallen teammates.

Kevin and Mike stood up.

"Are you guys okay?" Jayden asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Mike replied, as Mia helped Emily to her feet.

"Man, that guy was tough," Mia cut in.

"You know, Antonio is good with swordplay," Emily suggested, and everyone tensed up. "With his speed, we might stand a better chance."

"Think what you want," Jayden replied as the five de-morphed. "I'm not taking back what I said."

Kevin stood beside Jayden and the two walked back to the House.

But Mia and Mike came up to a stand-still, and very hurt Emily.

"I agree with you, Em," Mia spoke to her in a low voice. "Antonio deserves a better chance than this. I hate to say it, but Jii and Jayden were jerks."

"Me too," Mike added. "Antonio has potential, and Jii, Jayden, and Kevin just can't that. We need to get Antonio on the team."

Emily sent the two a little smile. Yes! She had supporters. That was always a good thing. "Yes, we do. But how?"

"Well…" Mike put together his, Mia, and Emily's brains, and they thought hard.

After a while of walking in silence, save the sounds of Kevin chatting with Jayden ahead, Emily snapped her fingers. "I got it. Mia, Mike, gather 'round while I still have it in my head."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Kitchen**

A few hours had passed, and Mike finally got the signal, and the courage, to do his part. Upon entering the kitchen, he saw that Jii and Kevin were the only ones in the room. Good.

Jayden had to be outside.

"Mentor, Kevin," Mike spoke up, and the two turned to him, "I need to talk to you."

"Ask us anything you want," Kevin replied.

"Well…why do you guys hate Antonio?" Just like he knew, and Emily said, they would, Jii and Kevin immediately tensed up. "You guys have to answer," Mike added.

"I knew him when he was younger, Mike," Jii said. "He was loud and obnoxious. He got in the way. He was a distraction for Jayden from his training."

"I get that," Mike said. "Is that why you said _'no'_?"

Jii nodded. "Yes. I am afraid that he will still act as a distraction for, not just Jayden, but for all of us from now on."

"Dude, I hate to break it to you," Mike said, Emily's words echoing in his mind, and his lips and voice box now repeating some of those words, "but Antonio is already a distraction, and that's because he's made a big impact on us, and he's not on the team. Face it, we need him. Besides, if we let him on the team, he won't be a distraction for us. He'll be training _with_ us. Come on, you gave me a chance. Why not Antonio?"

Jii said nothing, knowing that those words were true. "Perhaps, you are right, Mike. I should not have been so quick to judge Antonio. It was my mistake for thinking he was still immature."

Mike gave a little smile. One down, one to go.

"But he doesn't have the proper training," Kevin cut in, his voice tone annoyed and heavily tense. "He can't be a true Samurai if he's not trained properly."

Mike knew he was to go on Emily's words, but this one was all him. "That is a load of bull, and we all know it! What about Emily? She wasn't trained properly, yet she's still on the team, as a _'true Samurai'_."

"Because we need a Yellow," Kevin replied, his words cold.

"But we still treat her as family!" Mike roared. "_You_ still treat as family, as your own little sister. _None_ of us hold a certain grudge against her because she's not the first born like we are!" While he mentally kicked himself in order to calm down, he remembered what Emily said about Kevin's possible feelings for Antonio. "That aside, Hamasaki, do you hate Antonio because of his lack of skill in your eyes, or because you're afraid that because he's Jayden's childhood friend, he'll replace you as Jayden's second-in-command?"

Kevin did not speak, and Mike knew that he had nailed it. Or rather, Emily had.

"Well, guess what?" Mike's voice was calm, hopefully comforting, "Jayden seems to have a special place in his heart for all of his friends, a place that's all their own. In Jayden's eyes, _all_ of his friends are _irreplaceable_." Kevin glanced at Mike, with a hurt look in his eyes.

_Yep, nailed it perfectly._

"Okay, Kevin? You are never going to be replaced. We all have our own traits and our own talents. Jayden's the leader, Mia is the tough gal, Emily is the heart, I'm the creative one, Antonio will be the techie, Jii is the mentor, and you, Kevin Hamasaki, are the reliable one. _You_ will always be Jayden's second. _Always._"

Kevin sent him a smile, a sincere one, and Mike knew he had done it.

"So…can you give Antonio another chance?" Mike quietly asked.

"Alright," Kevin added, taking to heart what Mike had just said.

"Yes," Jii replied. "I'll find someone to go get Antonio."

"No need. Emily just volunteered," was Mike's reply. Jii nodded, giving Emily permission to go. "Cool, I'm gonna go and practice my Symbol Power if you need me," Mike said, smiling, exiting the kitchen.

Right outside, Mike gave Emily and Mia the thumbs up. Emily nodded, and she quietly snuck out the back door.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Waterfront**

"Antonio!" Emily called out. She knew she'd find Antonio here, right where they first met. She saw Antonio glance back at her when she called him, but he quickly turned his head back.

She finally got in conversation range with him, and she called his name again, softer this time.

"Antonio, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," but he didn't turn around. "But why didn't you talk to me earlier?"

By the coldness in his voice, she just knew he was talking about when they met eyes earlier, right when she was leaving with the others.

"Listen, Antonio. Jii is right, you know. This isn't some game that kids play. This is serious. Innocent people can get hurt, or worse, killed. The Nighlock are deadly, and they won't hold back. And the Samurai Rangers are their worst enemies. If your guard is down for even a second, they could get to you. I had to go, Antonio, and leave you behind for that very reason. I am the Yellow Samurai Ranger. I have a job to protect the innocent." No reply, but Emily could just tell that Antonio already knew that. "And that's also why Jayden refused to let you on the team."

"What?" There was Antonio's response. He had finally turned around and met Emily's eyes once again. He was demanding an explanation.

"A couple of weeks ago, we had an attack from a tough Nighlock named Robtish," Emily began the explanation Antonio not only wanted, but deserved. "Robtish was deadly, and he was after Jayden. In an attempt to protect an injured Jayden, Kevin and I took one of Robtish's lethal attacks for him. I don't know what happened after that, because Kevin and I both passed out as soon as we collapsed, but another Nighlock, half-human to be honest, appeared and injured Mike and Mia because they were guarding Jayden too. All five of us, injured in just one battle, two of us down for the count within seconds…"

Antonio noticed the tears behind Emily's hazel eyes, and he just knew that her story wasn't over yet.

"And consumed by guilt because of this, Jayden ran away that night, in order to protect us. We didn't see him until late afternoon the next day, and obviously, he accepted the fact that this was a team thing. But, Jayden doesn't want to involve you, Antonio, because he doesn't want to see you get hurt. He really does care about you, and he's only trying to protect you."

"Well, I can take care of myself, and I'm willing to take the risks, but he can't see that," Antonio hung his head.

"Then, make him," Emily cut in, sternly. "Talk to Jayden, and make him see that. Make him understand."

"B-But –!"

"A Samurai never gives up, Antonio," Emily added with a smile. "And I'll be behind you all the way."

Antonio connected eyes with her once more, and he nodded. He broke his gaze this time to gather his fishing equipment together.

While he was doing so, Emily flipped out her Samuraizer. "Mia," she spoke quietly, mentally thanking Antonio that the ruckus he was making was providing strong cover. "Yeah, it's me. Phase 3 is a go."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Training Yard**

Mia closed her Samuraizer, already in her training outfit, ready to do her part. She exited the House, out to the front training yard, where she found Jayden turning Antonio's morpher over and over in his hands.

"It must be hard," Mia spoke up, catching his attention, "being the leader of a team. Wanna spar?"

Jayden nodded once and led her out onto the field, getting two wooden swords from the rack. Handing one over to her, he raised his in a defensive position. She took the one he gave her and did the same.

"You've known Antonio forever," Mia spoke up again. "The idea of him getting hurt must bother."

Somehow, that gave Jayden a sickening feeling in his stomach. "Of course, he's my friend."

He charged, but she blocked his attack. They clashed a couple more times, and he stepped back to avoid her swing at his legs. They eventually pressed their wooden swords against each other's and they glared into each other's eyes.

"Leading us on dangerous missions is hard enough," Mia continued. "But put an old friend like Antonio at risk? That's too much pressure."

She pushed him off and struck him in the back of the knee, giving him no choice but to fall to his knees.

Her sword in his face, she added, "I hit a nail on the head, didn't I?"

He merely shoved her sword out of his face. "I know Emily put you up to this."

Mia dared not to say a thing, mainly because Emily never told her what to do or say when this came up, so she merely raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm not stupid," Jayden continued when he saw her response. "You can't read emotions as well as Emily can. She put you up to this."

Mia was about to reply and ask Jayden to let her little sister figure off easy, but a familiar voice cut her off before she could, "Because I knew you'd listen to her."

The two Rangers turned and came face-to-face with Emily. She and Jayden connected eyes, with Antonio standing beside her. Mia turned her head to see Mike, Kevin, and Jii off to the side.

They had all gathered.

And now that Emily was here, Mia and Mike knew that the Pink Ranger had successfully completed Phase 3. All Emily told her to do was to _'hang on until I get there'_.

Emily had predicted every single one of Kevin, Jii, Antonio, _and_ Jayden's responses, both physical and verbal.

"It still didn't work, Suzuki," Mike and Mia tensed up when they heard this. Whenever they heard Jayden use people's surnames, they knew he was angry. And since Jayden had a soft spot for Emily, they knew he was really mad. "I told you. I'm not taking back what I said."

Antonio glanced between Jayden and Emily, back to Jayden, and then back to Emily, slightly worried. This was only turned into a fight.

But Emily stood firm, and she glared back at him. "But you made a promise to him." Jayden instantly froze.

Kevin and Jii were already weary of the situation at hand, but now that Jayden and Emily were seemingly having an argument, a very rare situation, they were on edge. Mia and Mike were the same way. Jayden mad at Emily was never a good sign.

"Jayden, I know of the risks," Antonio cut in, stepping forward, ready to protect Emily from his own childhood friend. The others looked on with mild awe. "I understand that this whole Nighlock thing is real. I've always known that, and I've never wavered from believing that this isn't a game. I know of the risks, Jayden, but I am not afraid. I am willing to help, and I will never give up. And don't you _dare_ be mad at Emily. She only wanted to help."

Jayden broke eye contact and turned it toward the ground. _Dammit…_

He had let his anger get the best of him again.

_Once again, Emily was right._

"Just give him a chance, Jayden," Kevin quietly spoke up. "He may turn out to be a very valued member of the team."

"He has great potential, Jayden," Mia added. "You saw him. He was great, and I know that together, we can unlock all that potential. He could be one of the greatest Samurai to ever walk the planet."

"Well said, pretty lady," Antonio quietly muttered. Mia sent a small smile.

Jayden glanced up, his expression softened greatly. He nodded and retrieved Antonio's morpher from his pocket. "You're right, all of you." He sent an apologetic glance Emily's way. She merely smiled at him, as he held out the morpher towards the sixth Ranger. "Antonio, welcome to the Samurai Rangers."

A big smile broke out across the Latino's face, as he took his morpher from Jayden's hands and the two shared a fist bump.

Mia softly sighed in relief, as she walked over to Emily. "Good job, Em. Your plan worked like a charm."

Emily raised her eyebrows knowingly, her smile never wavering. "I told you it would."

Antonio and the others turned to look at her. "You set this all up for me?" The new Ranger asked.

"Jayden too, but basically, I just gave you the chance _I_ promised," Emily replied.

Antonio returned her smile. "Thank you…"

"Hey, if we're gonna be teammates now, you need to remember that Emily Suzuki always keeps her promises," Mike cut in.

The Gap Sensor went off at that moment. They glanced over at Jii, who raced inside quickly, and a few seconds later, he came back out, saying, "Johnson Construction Site."

Softly smiling, Jayden took a glance at all _five_ of his teammates. "Let's go."

And Jii watched, softly smiling, as Antonio joined them for battle.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Johnson Construction Site**

The others didn't need to worry about Antonio at all. He was holding up just fine on his own. Moogers were all that were coming towards him, and he was slicing them down like they were nothing.

But even though Antonio had his guard up, Steeleto could certainly find all of his weak spots.

So once Emily was done with her group, her Earth Slicer in hand, she raced over to Antonio.

"Hey, Em!" He called out, witnessing her take out a couple in front of him, behind the one he was already slicing down. "You didn't have to come help!"

"Rangers work together!" She called back. "Teamwork is how we win!"

She pushed him behind her as she chopped off three blades heading towards his back. They broke off in a shatter. She blocked and chopped off three more sets of blades before hurling her giant shuriken at the monster.

Antonio witnessed an explosion, small but large enough to engulf a Nighlock. Emily caught her shuriken when it came whirling back, and Antonio couldn't help but be in awe.

Wow…

But, it was never that easy, was it?

Through the fading fire, more blades came her way, and this time, when they hit her Earth Slicer, she was forced to drop it. The blades came back and the force knocked her back.

Antonio, watching this scene carefully, now his eyes filled with shock, was too slow to catch, but he would be ready when she hit the ground.

However, Jayden caught her before she did.

She looked up to see who saved her. "Jayden," she mumbled.

"Thank you, Em," and her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Thank you for everything you've done for Antonio and me, and for bringing us back together. I swear to never doubt you again." He heard her try and stifle a giggle. "Thanks for protecting Antonio there. You did great, but he and I will take it from here. Okay?"

"Okay," she nodded.

He helped her stand up before letting her go and turning toward Antonio.

"You ready, Antonio?" Jayden asked him. Picking up her Earth Slicer, Emily saw Antonio nod, and despite him wearing a helmet, she could see how enthusiastic he was. Underneath her own helmet, she smiled.

The two childhood friends charged.

She never had any friends when she was growing up. With or without thinking about her destiny, she was rather reluctant to make friends.

"That's…a lot…of blades!" Antonio cried out, while the two were smashing Steeleto's blades.

"Keep going! We've got this!" Jayden called back.

Sure, she had her mother and her sister, but sometimes, they just didn't understand. Nonetheless, she has grateful that she had them, but she also missed her father to hell and back. And it didn't help matters when Emily would always force a smile onto her face in order to reassure her mother and sister that things were okay when they really weren't.

Together, Antonio and Jayden fought back against Steeleto. She witnessed two slashes, one red and one gold, strike down the Nighlock.

But these guys were the first ones outside of her own family to ever give a damn about her. They cared, even more so than Serena. While Serena would let things go when Emily refused to talk about her problems, these guys kept pressuring her to confess, and afterward, she was glad she did, because she felt so much better.

"Alright, Antonio! Final strike! Ready?"

"Always, Jay! Always."

Antonio was no different. When Jayden was arguing with her, deep down inside, she was dead scared, even if she didn't show it, and Antonio did not hesitate to stick up for her. He saw what Emily was trying to do the entire time, and not once was he reluctant to point that out.

"Barracuda Blade: Barracuda Bite!"

"Spin Sword: Blazing Strike!"

Who needed friends? She had an entire family: one father (the deceased Thomas Suzuki), one grandfather (Mentor Jii), one mother (Lilia Suzuki), two sisters (Serena and Mia), and three brothers (Jayden, Mike, and Kevin).

And now she had gained a fourth brother.

Jayden and Antonio turned their back to the explosion that engulfed Steeleto, isnglaing the end of his first.

Emily couldn't help but smile and say, "Welcome to the family, Antonio."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Outdoor Dining Area**

It was time for the Welcome to the Team dinner for Antonio. They had ice cream after their victory, as was their new tradition, one they introduced Antonio to.

After Jii poured Emily a glass of milk, she turned to face Jayden, who was gently tugging on her arm, motioning her to come over to the side. She followed his request, as the two heard Mia say, "Wow, this looks like my famous oyster and peanut-butter casserole I make," about Antonio's grilled fish. It turns out their new Ranger was a master of the grill.

Jayden and Emily both grimaced at Mia's comment as he led her a fair distance from the table where the others were, out of hearing range, which Jayden wanted.

"Listen, Emily, I owe you an apology."

"It's alright."

"I yelled at you." And Emily just knew he wasn't letting this go so easily. "I must have hurt your feelings a thousand times over by doing that."

"You did, but it's okay," she replied, calmly.

"No, it's not okay," he quickly, yet gently, shot her down. "I owe you two million apologies."

Fighting with Emily felt even more unpleasant than imagining Antonio getting hurt. He would soon rather ingest Sanzu River water, pure poison that wasted no time in killing its victim, than to even think of harming a hair on Emily's head.

He was surprised when Emily gave him a hug, and even though he felt unworthy of a hug, much less a hug from her, he returned. "I said, it's okay. Everything turned out alright in the end, so put it in the back of your mind."

Even though she couldn't see it, Jayden smiled back at her and did just that.

If Emily said it was okay, then she was right. It was okay.

"Hey, lovebirds!" They heard Mia call out. "Hurry up before we wolf all of this delicious food down!"

They shook their heads at their friends' antics, and gave each other one last glance, before leading each other over to the table.

"Sorry, Antonio," Mike swallowed a bite and continued to speak, "but you're gonna have to learn the rules as you go. That's just the way Jii teaches us."

"Because it's important to learn from your mistakes. Advice can help you, but making mistakes is the best teaching method," Jii advised them all.

"Noted," Antonio said, and Jii knew that he really was wrong to believe that Antonio was still childish. Well, to a certain extent, he still was, because he was naturally hyper, like Mike, and had this all-up-in-your-face energy, but he really could be mature if and when he needed or wanted to. "Fish, Mentor?" he held out a plate to the oldest occupant of the House.

"Of course," Jii said, taking the plate. "Thank you."

"So, I heard you're moving into the Shiba House," Mia brought up.

"Yep," Antonio replied, serving up two more plates for Jayden and Emily. "I really do want to learn how to be a Samurai like you guys, and so to make things easier, I'm going to move in, so you guys don't have to call me all the time when a Nighlock shows up." Jii nodded. This made sense. "Unless, Jayden doesn't want us to be roommates. In that case, I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, no," Jayden cut in as he and Emily sat down at the table. "It's fine with me, Antonio. And, officially, welcome to the team."

"Thank you," the Gold Ranger replied. "And I, uh…would like to say that…um…I'm sorry about my pride. It could have been my downfall. So, I'll start over. I'm the Gold Ranger, Antonio Garcia."

"Welcome to the team! I'm Emily Suzuki, the Yellow Ranger!"

The others, besides Jayden and Antonio, looked at her like she was crazy. Was she really playing along to his game? So enthusiastically?

But the others witness Antonio give Emily a sincere, grateful smile.

"W-Wait," Mike spoke slowly, the others thinking the same thing. "You were serious?"

Antonio glanced down, his happiness seemingly gone now, and he nodded. "Y-Yeah…I'm sorry for not being a strong as you guys, but I really am trying."

He sounded just like Emily.

"Listen, Antonio, don't apologize for not being as tough as we are," Emily spoke up through the silence. "I know that this is probably one of the lessons Jii wants you to learn the hard way, and not everyone believes this is true, but it really is. Even some of these guys here don't believe it deep down." She took a deep breath before continuing. "True strength isn't about how well you swing your sword. It's not about how much of the Samurai Code you know and follow. It's not even about how well you can stand up to insults. True strength lies not in the muscles, but in the heart. True strength is realizing your own flaws, admitting them out loud, and resolving to become a better person."

'_I'm sorry about my pride. It could have been my downfall. So, I'll start over.'_

"You are strong, Antonio, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Emily concluded. Antonio glanced over at Jayden, who nodded, knowing for a fact that her words were true.

As Antonio's naturally hyper smile was back. "Thanks, Emily. You're a true friend." Emily smiled back. "Fish?"

Emily nodded. She was rather hungry. "Please, thank you."

And the rest of the dinner went by without any other interruption.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

**Note:** _The ending scene, some of you may notice, is from Top of the World. It's one the memories I wrote in "Stroke of Fate"._

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 9: **_**9.5 – The Fish Boy**_

"_Antonio knows that Jayden was a mystery to a lot of people, but to him, Emily was the bigger enigma."_


	9. Chapter 9: 9-5 - The Fish Boy

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_Antonio knows that Jayden was a mystery to a lot of people, but to him, Emily was the bigger enigma."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 95: The Fish Boy**

_**June 22, 2012**_

**Panorama City, Pier 11**

Antonio stared out over the ocean, the waves calming him. At first, he couldn't believe it was true, but it was.

_He really was a Samurai Ranger._

Over the course of the past four days, Antonio learned more about the Samurai business than he ever learned about fishing. But, most of all, he got to know his teammates better. He didn't know _everything_ about them, mind you, but he knew more than he knew on his first day.

Jayden was still Jayden. He still trained when he was upset and needed to cool down, but he was less aggressive outside of battle. For example, to shut someone up, what he used to do with his fists, he could do with one smoldering glare. He had grown from a little boy in Samurai training to a rightful leader with respect and authority. He was still a little antisocial, but he had opened up quite a bit.

And he may have been new, but even Antonio could see Jayden's soft spot for Emily.

Jayden was the same way around Antonio, but when around Emily, he was a little different. Antonio knew what it was right away: the two would always be best friends, but Jayden really liked Emily more than that.

But Jayden still used his fists whenever they teased him about it. His face would get red, and he would sock somebody in the arm, until the teasing died down.

Mike was Antonio's seemingly partner-in-crime. They were very similar: hyper, loved video games, very enthusiastic, and very creative on and off the battlefield.

Mike also had this thing for pranks, especially when they were aimed at Kevin. If you wanted to prank somebody in the Shiba House, Kevin was the guy to go with.

But you did not prank Jayden. No one dared to. Unless, of course, you wanted to get your butt kicked by hot flames.

You did not dare to prank Mentor Jii either. He was the one with all of the power. He was like the landlord of the House. You mess with him, you're screwed for life.

You could prank Mia. She'd be okay with it, but that was only on her good days. And if your pranks involved her cooking in any way… well, goodbye for life, friend.

Friendly pranks were okay, but Emily wasn't somebody you wanted to mess with. Mike learned this the hard way, and he told Antonio the story of when he scared Emily, and he received a solid elbow to the gut in response.

Antonio took that to heart. After all, he had seen Emily on the battlefield. She was a fierce, little thing.

The fact that she was (over)protective of Jayden was obvious. Even a newborn baby could see that.

But what really surprised Antonio was the fact that she was protective of _all_ of her teammates.

If some jerk hit on Mia, and Mia didn't like that (Kevin certainly didn't like it whenever this happened), despite the fact that the Pink Samurai could fend for herself, Emily would step in and tell the guy to stop. If he didn't listen the first time, Emily would tell him off again, this time louder and angrier. If, for the third time, he was still going, then Emily would get physical. She would use her martial arts and gymnastic skills to place the guy in an uncomfortable, yet very painful, position without even touching him. Antonio didn't know what she would do after this if the guy was still going, but that was only because it usually worked the first time.

Mike told him this story. He was the one who told Antonio most of the stories and the codes on how to deal with his new teammates and possible new friends.

She would also get highly defensive if someone was racist towards Kevin and severely hurt his feelings. Antonio understood this perfectly well. As a Hispanic, Antonio got some pretty painful treatment regarding this topic.

Whenever, somebody told Mike to shut up and mind his own business, Emily would tell that person off too, giving the reasons of "Mike was naturally hyper," and "he butts in because he cares."

If one of the team refused to do as Jii said, Emily would tell that person off too, very politely, and get them to see where Jii was heading with this. If Antonio learned anything about Jii from Emily, it was the fact that Jii never did anything by accident.

And whenever someone out in public called Jayden heartless, Emily would get very defensive. Antonio was very, very grateful to Emily for this, as he knew for fact that Jayden wasn't emotionless. He did have a heart. He was just taught to block out unwanted emotions at will.

She would also always try to get people to see reason. She was very polite at first, always, but if they just refused to listen, she would get angrier and angrier, all while trying to be as mature and polite as possible. She rarely ever snapped, but when she did, it wasn't pretty.

But when she wasn't angry, when she was just with her teammates, she was kind. She was…herself. Antonio knew how she acted and reacted, but…he just didn't know why.

"Hey, Antonio!"

A familiar voice made him jump and snap him back to reality. He whirled around, fists up, ready to fight, but he immediately relaxed when he was that it was only the one who was just thinking about.

Emily tilted her head in mild confusion, but humor was present in her eyes. "You okay, Antonio? I didn't scare you, did I?"

"No, of course not," he scrambled to find an excuse for being jumpy. He mentally sighed in failure when he couldn't come up with anything.

"It's okay, Antonio," she replied. "True friends know the real you, but they don't care. And I'm sorry for scaring you."

She was smiling, and he couldn't help but send her a smile back.

"It's okay," he replied, turning his gaze back to the ocean waves, which were crashing upon the land and up against the structures in a steady, gentle, repetitive rhythm.

"Something wrong, Antonio?" Emily asked.

Also, Jayden told him about how Emily could read your emotions with a simple look in your eye. So, he knew not to hide this from her.

He sighed, and reluctantly, quietly began to spill what was on his mind.

"Hey, Em."

"Hey, Tonio." Such was her nickname for him. It was like Emily was saying, _'your secrets are safe with me. Don't hold back.'_ He made him feel safe.

"Do you think my obsession for fishing is a little weird? I mean, other people kinda give me very strange looks as I walk by, like their disgusted or something..."

This had been going on since before he met Jayden. He didn't quite understand what they meant until just recently, but they stung even more once he was included in this particular loop.

Emily was her usual bubbly self, all while being calm, kind, and supportive. "Of course not. Don't let it get to your head, Tonio. Besides, you're not obsessed with fish. Fish is your _passion_. If that's what you like to do, then just ignore those stares and all those comments you get. Keep on fishing! Besides, if you didn't like fish, we wouldn't have had all those fish dinners you keep making us. You're a very good cook, by the way."

This made him smile. "Aw, gracias, amiga. I can teach you how to cook if you like. And Mia too." It felt nice to get a compliment for once.

"I'd very much appreciate that, Tonio. Thank you."

Even if he couldn't figure out why she acted the way she did, Antonio knew then that he would always feel safe with her, no matter what.

Emily was a genuinely kind person, and she just wanted to share that with everybody, even to all the jerks out there.

"So…" he was aware that he sounded a bit awkward. Some on, Garcia, be strong! It's just Emily! "Was there a reason you came by?"

"Can't I just take some time off and see one of my best friends?" Emily asked, mocking being insulted.

"Of course you can," Antonio began to say, before Emily continued.

"Actually, there was a reason I stopped by," she said. "Mentor Jii has a mission for you."

"Oh. Anything specific that makes me qualified? Or is it because I'm the newbie?"

"Oh no, Antonio. This requires a very special skill that only you have… _but_… he won't any of us what he is. He says you have to be the one he talks to first before he fills the rest of us in."

"Really?"

"Really. Come on home, if you don't believe me."

Home…she was willing to call the Shiba House home, where he rightfully belonged…or was that just a screw-up.

She tilted her head in confusion again, this time the humor being completely gone.

"Antonio?" She placed a gentle hand on his arm, hoping that she was being comforting.

"Em, I've always…always been on the run with my papa. We never stayed in the same place for very long, as least, not long enough to make friends and keep those friends," he lightly sniffed, this being very painful for him. "I never knew my mama. She died when I was two, nearly three. I barely remember her, and my papa died of a heart attack five years after we moved."

He heard Emily lightly gasp.

But he continued. "Even before his death, we've been pretty distant, probably because I reminded Papa of Mama. Jayden was the only one I could call a true friend, and my family, but I was forced to move a year later. The only thing that kept me going after Papa's death was Jayden's promise. I mean, it's great seeing him again, but all that hate I got while I was trying to get on the team and be accepted by you guys…it was too much…"

"Tonio…" she whispered.

"But y-you…you gave me a chance…and I-I…I'll always owe you for that…thank you, Em."

Out of his tear-stained eyes, Antonio saw Emily smile at him, tears staining her own eyes.

"I never really had any friends growing up either, Tonio," she calmly spoke to him, rubbing small, delicate circles into his back, relaxing him. "I was clumsy. I never got the best grades in school. I couldn't do anything right. I felt like a failure. No one would step up and defend me. No one would be my friend, and so I managed to convince myself that I really was a failure and that no one loved me at all. And…can you keep a secret, even from the others?"

This got his attention.

"Of course, Em. Scouts honor."

Her voice lowered, almost down to a whisper. "A few times, I…I even tried to commit suicide."

The world around him stopped in that instant. No wonder she didn't want to tell the others. It was too horrific to even remember. "You mean…?" He made the motion of pretending to slit his wrist with his finger.

She sadly nodded. Even now, she was still traumatized.

"After about three incidents of this, my family finally told me the true meaning of never giving up. After my sister got sick, I really had to step up my game and be strong. But…it paid off. Because I have Jayden, Kevin, Mia, Mike, Mentor, and you. And you guys have been there for me like no other, not even my sister."

So, that's why she's so protective of the others.

"You think of us…as your family," Antonio quietly stated. "Don't you?" Emily nodded again. "So, as your family…you're so protective of us, because you're afraid to lose us."

Emily refused to meet his eyes, but she nodded.

And he knew just then that he and Emily were more alike that they first thought. She discovered that, too, and that must have been why she spilled out her painful past to him. She wanted to point out to him that he wasn't alone.

"You know, you'll always be special to me because we're so much alike," Emily said, "but I know another way we're so similar to each other."

He raised an eyebrow as the two leaned against the banister blocking them from falling into the water below.

"Mia will always be special to me because we're the only girls in the House," Emily continued. "I mean, that's a given. You, Mike, and Kevin are like brothers to me. Kevin the protective, but reliable older brother, and Mike a mixture of both older and younger, maybe even a twin. I hardly ever knew my dad. My mom said he was a good man, but Mentor Jii is the first father-like role model in my life. I'll always owe him for that, but like you, the first one who really gave me a chance…was Jayden."

How did he not see this coming?

Now that he knew, he realized that Jayden would be the obvious similarity she was talking about.

"That aside, Tonio," Emily had her bubbly smile back on, "you want to go and see what all the fuss is about back home?"

Antonio nodded. "Sure. Let's go."

Emily was no longer an enigma to him, but a role model, and a very reliable friend.

And he knew that he could always count on her.

…

The team heart and the fish boy…

Who'd have thought they'd be so similar?

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

**Note:** _This particular scene, some of you may notice, is from Top of the World. It's one the memories I wrote in "Stroke of Fate"._

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 10: **_**9.6 – The Blue and the Gold**_

"_He had won over the others, but why did Kevin have to be so difficult? _'Because he's a damn stick in the mud,' _Mike replied."_


	10. Chapter 10: 9-6 - The Blue and the Gold

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_He had won over the others, but why did Kevin have to be so difficult? _'Because he's a damn stick in the mud,' _Mike replied."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 9.6: The Blue and the Gold**

_**June 22, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

"Behold!" Antonio announced. Emily had brought him home about fifteen, sixteen minutes ago from the Pier. Anyways, on the table in front of Antonio was a wooden pot. "This…is our new and improved friend, the Clawzord."

Softly smiling, Jayden asked, "Where did you get this?"

Thus began Jii's explanation. "The Clawzord was battle damaged during your parents' generation, so I hid it away."

"Mentor asked me to perform a bit of my tech-wiz magic," Antonio sounded somewhat pleased that he had a unique mission, all his own. He could prove himself again to the others, to prove that he was a very valuable member to the team.

Jayden raised an eyebrow at Jii.

"I wanted to see if he could actually do it," Jii explained in a whisper.

Antonio flipped open his morpher. "It's pretty simple. I text over some over Power Symbols to the Clawzord, he gets reprogrammed, and as before you know it, Clawzord's back in action."

Everyone else seemed impressed.

"So," Mia spoke up. "You've been using electronic symbols?"

"Welcome to the 21st Century," Antonio replied.

"Impressive," Kevin cut in, as politely as he could. "But this is the work of a computer nerd…not a Samurai."

What?

What did Kevin just say?

Antonio's smile was wiped right off his face, as was Emily's, and everyone else's.

"Huh?" Emily tried to sound clueless, but inside, she was fuming. Where did that teamwork go? When they defeated Steeleto together?

"Look, I know I wasn't born into the Samurai life like you guys," Antonio tried to explain, "but I'm just trying to help in my own way."

"That's very noble of you, but I still stand by what I said…"

Emily slammed the book she was holding down on the table. The others glanced at her, preparing for her feisty side. "Kevin, we've already accepted Antonio on the team. What's the deal?"

"I said I'd give him a chance!" Kevin retorted back at her. "But being a true Samurai means a lot more than just pressing some buttons!" And he left the room, for the kitchen.

Emily glared after him, even going as far as standing up, but Antonio held her back by a gentle cuff of her arm.

"Yeah, being a true Samurai is what's in your heart," he said.

That's right…

_Thank you, Antonio. I needed that._

And Emily calmed down immediately.

Jayden met eyes with Antonio. "It's up to you to change his mind, Antonio."

Antonio nodded.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Pier 11**

"Eat, drink, and sleep like a Samurai is the only way to impress him," Mike said.

"Okay, but why does Kevin have to be the difficult one?" Antonio asked.

"Because he's a damn stick in the mud," Mike replied, before motioning to Mia. "We'll be at the House if you need us. You also have our frequency, so feel free." Antonio nodded as Mike and Mia walked back to the Shiba House.

Antonio turned back to the waves, effectively calming him.

Emily leans on the railing next to him. She decided to stay behind.

She didn't have to say anything either. Antonio already knew she was there.

"I just don't understand why Kevin could hate me so much. I guess he only likes real samurai, huh?" He rolled his eyes, his inner pain allowing his sarcasm to take over.

"That's not true, Tonio. You see, I'm not supposed to be a Ranger either, but Kevin likes me just fine."

Huh?

"What? You're not?! Why not? You sure look like a real Samurai to me!"

How could she not be a Samurai? She was here, wasn't she? She got called to the Shiba House.

"Hahaha~! Thanks, Tonio, but my older sister, Serena, got sick and so I had to take her place. She's the real Yellow, not me."

Oh…right. _Older_ sister…that _first-born_ birthright thing… Jayden explained it to him when they were still kids.

"Don't sell yourself short, Em. I'm sure she's proud of you."

But just because was a replacement didn't mean that she wasn't a Samurai. She was still _Emily Suzuki, the Yellow Samurai Ranger_. And he would treat her as such.

"I know she is, and I am proud of you. You know for a fact that a being a true Samurai is what is in your heart. All you have to do to make up with Kevin is get him to realize that. Hey, who knows? Maybe you'll get him to loosen up a bit..."

Keep going, Antonio Garcia. _Keep moving forward_.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**June 23, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

The next morning, Mike greeted Emily with a smile. "Morning, Em. Hey, Mentor got Cocoa Puffs."

"Because you guys do deserve a treat every now and then," was Jii's excuse.

Emily sent them a little smile before it disappeared.

"You okay, Em?" Mia asked the younger Samurai, noticing the somewhat dark circles under her eyes.

"Y-Yeah…" Emily replied, sitting down and rubbing at her eyes. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Tough training?" Mike asked.

"No, couldn't sleep at all," she replied, pouring herself a glass of apple juice. "I couldn't get rid of this awful feeling, like something bad was about to happen. I still have it now."

"Relax," Mike said. "Everything's just fine." And turned back to his Cocoa Puffs.

"And even if it does feel a little tense, everything will clear up eventually," Mia added, before going back to her toast.

But this only worried Emily more than usual.

"It's okay, Em," Emily turned to Jayden. He looked just as worried as she did. "I have that feeling too. But all we can do as of right now is keep our chins up and hope that everything is alright, but be ready for anything."

Emily nodded.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

The digital clock on the bookshelf flashed 8:01 AM.

"Kevin would never be this late from his morning jog," Mia mentioned, feeling guilty that she blew Emily's worry off as nothing. Mike felt the same way. "He's always back here at 7:50 AM sharp, and ready to go at 8:00 AM, on the dot." Yeah, Mia had memorized Kevin's entire schedule.

8:02 AM

"Alright, that's it," Jayden announced sternly. He glanced over at Emily. "Enough waiting. It's time to take action."

Emily nodded at him once again, this time a more determined look in her eyes.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Indoor Dojo**

"Stealing toys from little kids?" Mike asked, looking at a teddy bear. "Now that's even low for a Nighlock."

"But we get to make things right," Kevin replied. "Right, Antonio?"

Antonio glanced at Kevin, both smiled, and he nodded. The two shared a fist-bump.

"It's best we returned anonymously," Jayden suggested. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"It'll be fun playing Santa," Emily shared a little smile with Jayden.

Mia, with the other three as they sorted out the toys, muttered, "Ho, ho, ho."

The others couldn't help but laugh at her attempt at humor.

Jayden leaned in toward Emily, and whispered to her, "Antonio_ is_ proving himself day after day. You're right. One day, he'll probably become a greater Samurai than me. And that's saying something."

Emily giggled. "That's saying a lot."

Jayden smiled back at her, eventually snapping out of this trance, the evidence of which led to the fact that he was getting lost in her eyes. He motioned to the toys. "Let's go help."

Emily nodded once more, this time with a smile on her face.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

**Note:** _The second scene in the beginning of the chapter, some of you may notice, is from Top of the World. It's one the memories I wrote in "Stroke of Fate"._

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 11: 10.1**_** – The Birthday Girl**_

"_It was her birthday today. She deserved to be happy, and as her best friends, it was their duty to make sure she was."_


	11. Chapter 11: 10-1 - The Birthday Girl

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_It was her birthday today. She deserved to be happy, and as her best friends, it was their duty to make sure she was."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 10.1: The Birthday Girl**

_**August 15, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Kitchen and Main Room**

Emily had no idea what had happened to set off this chain of events, or how to control the current situation to be completely honest.

Mike had grabbed the only carton of chocolate ice cream and was eating out of it. It was halfway empty by now. Kevin had grabbed napkins from the kitchen and was chasing Mike around to wipe the chocolate off his face. Mike was continuing to down the ice cream and purposefully smearing it all over his face _just_ to push Kevin's buttons. Mia was chasing the two of them, trying to prevent a big mess. Antonio had grabbed Kevin, Mia, and Mike's abandoned slices of cake and was eating them all. Jii was trying to prevent a massive headache and muttering things like _"these kids"_. And Jayden looked torn between laughing at all this and ordering them to stop and scold them.

To be completely honest, in Jayden's eyes, he _was_ torn. He wanted to prevent a big mess, something he knew Jii would highly appreciate, Mia too. Even if Antonio was amused by this, and taking advantage of it by stealing everyone's cake, because this was bound to cause a _big mess_.

But on the other hand, he just wanted to sit back and laugh. He could see Emily's face. She was laughing and was amused by this like Antonio was.

_Today was her birthday, and she deserved to be happy._

How could he possibly stop this (hilarious and amusing) fight going on between Kevin and Mike? How could he possibly stand to see that big smile wiped off of Emily's face?

He just didn't know what to do, so he didn't do or say anything at all.

And he also couldn't help but notice that he smiled whenever she smiled. He was happy whenever she was happy.

Today, during Dayu's rampage after Emily, Jayden could feel the pain Emily was in, her sadness, when she told him that she hated her birthday and the reason why.

And it really surprised him.

He had _never_ met _anybody_ who didn't like the day they were born.

Antonio was born January 19, and while they had yet to celebrate his birthday as a team, Jayden had no doubt, already having celebrated Antonio's birthday ten years ago, that Antonio loved the day he was born. He loved it with a passion, and he loved it whenever anybody celebrated their birthday or even someone else's, especially those he was invited to. I mean, why else would he added "Happy Birthday Emily…and Clawzord" on the birthday cake?

Kevin's birthday was February 8, and it was the first they had celebrated. They hardly knew each other then, but they were teammates, almost friends, so they went out and got him presents and a cake anyway. Kevin himself didn't eat any cake, but he allowed the others to celebrate this special day with him.

Mike had his birthday March 21, and they had surprised him, although they suspected he knew what they were going to do anyways. Mike was easy for gift ideas, and this time, Kevin actually had a slice of cake. It was thin, but he ate it. Jayden remembered how lively this party was.

May 23 was the day Mia had her own birthday. She was also easy to get presents for, and they were all thankful she didn't have to cook. Mia may be improving (slightly), but her cooking, even now, was still terrible. But, like Kevin and Mike, she shared her joy with everyone around her, all while sticking true to her _"special birthday privileges"_ at the same time.

Jayden's birthday, July 3, was the first birthday Antonio got to celebrate with the team. He had celebrated Jayden's birthday once before, but this one was more festive. _Way_ more festive. Jayden remembered skipping out the privileges Mike, Mia, and Kevin stuck too very closely, simply wishing, _like Emily_, that his friends and teammates to have a good day too. He didn't say it aloud, like Emily did, but he firmly remembered wishing that.

Even Jii's birthday, the date of which was _classified_ (not even _Jayden_ knew), was appreciated by everybody, especially Jii himself.

But when Emily admitted to not liking her birthday, for a good reason, too, Jayden couldn't help but feel the need to make her see otherwise. Her saying that almost made him think that she didn't deserve the right to life, like she had done something terrible and could not atone for it. For the life of him, he just couldn't see any big problem with her. She was, not _completely_, mind you, but _mildly_, innocent. (She had seen too much and defeated too many Nighlock to be considered completely innocent.) But…was he right in thinking that she sounded like she wanted to die? That's why he was very grateful to Mike earlier.

'_But you know, Em, you may not like your birthday, but we're all glad you were born.'_

He wanted to say this to her himself, but he was very glad that someone else felt the same way about this as he did.

Could he _really_ stop that fight between Kevin and Mike just to see her smile be wiped off of her face?

Emily Suzuki _deserved_ to be happy, especially on her _birthday_.

No, he couldn't. He had made up his mind. He would not stop that fight. Usually, he would be irritated whenever Kevin and Mike began to argue, but if she was enjoying it, then he could bear it.

Emily, out of the corner of her eye, saw Jayden side-walk over to Jii and whisper in the mentor's ear. Whatever Jayden said seemed to work for Jii, because the man's headache appeared to clear up.

She was mildly startled when Mia sat down next to her, somewhat breathless.

"That's it. I give up," the older girl stated firmly, taking a swig of lemonade from her glass. "Whatever mess they make now is not my problem."

"Good idea," Emily couldn't help but let out a giggle, which grew louder when Mia glanced all around her and behind her.

"Where's my cake?!" Mia screeched. She turned to Antonio, who had a series of plates beside him. "Antonio!"

Emily's giggle soon turned into a full blown laugh, which echoes through the room.

Jayden turned back to her when he heard it. That laugh…

And he let out a soft smile.

She deserved to hear it. She deserved to let it out.

And at this point, he really was glad he didn't stop that Kevin and Mike's little chase-fight thing.

Emily had no idea what just happened, or what happened to cause this, but she loved it.

And it didn't matter if she was the Gem, or the youngest, or the most innocent one of them all.

Because these were her friends. She loved them and that was enough for her.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

_**Merry Christmas, one and all! I know this chapter isn't Christmas related, but I really like it, and I hope you do too. I'll update more of my stories tomorrow.**_

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 12: 11.4**_** – Tengen Gate**_

"_No single Nighlock knew what Xandred would really do to them if they had hurt his Gem, but no one really wanted to find out, so they did as Xandred ordered to them: don't hurt the Gem. All except one."_


	12. Chapter 12: 11-4 - The Tengen Gate

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps. I am also going to add those chapters that I thought would be omitted, including "Trading Places".

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

Also, if you dislike reading about _blood_ and whatnot, consider this as a fair warning. It's mainly mentioned at the end, but I just want you to be careful.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_No single Nighlock knew what Xandred would really do to them if they had hurt his Gem, but no one really wanted to find out, so they did as Xandred ordered to them: don't hurt the Gem. All except one."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 11.4: The Tengen Gate**

_**September 12, 2012**_

**Panorama City, City Park**

Emily swerved slowly around a group of kids hop-scotching in the sidewalk. Mike had bought her rollerblades for her birthday and she was waiting for the perfect day to try them out, which evidentially was today.

She knew how to skate, but these were new, and they could severely hurt her if she wasn't careful.

Emily glanced around the park and smiled. Today, the sun was shining and people were out and about, happy and having fun. Nope. No misery here.

She jumped over a man who was kneeled over, tying his shoe. Landing perfectly on her own two feet, she continued to rollerblade down the concrete path until someone called out her name.

She turned to see Antonio waving at her, his fishing equipment box beside him. She smiled, waved back, and slowed down by turned her blades sideways and lowering them to the point where they were almost touching the ground. Using her black-biker-gloved hand, she pivoted herself and turned around before resuming her skating.

Turning the blades sideways again, she slowed down and stopped in front of Antonio. "Hey, Tonio."

"Hey, Em. Nice, fancy skating there."

"Thanks. Serena taught me, well, before she got sick," Emily replied, attempting to balance herself so she wouldn't fall over. In the end, she merely gave up by using Antonio as a guiding post.

"Your sister taught you a lot of things," Antonio spoke, and Emily nodded. "What about your mom? Didn't she teach you anything?" He began walking, towing his fishing box behind him, if only so Emily wouldn't fall.

"Of course," Emily said, slowly skating beside her friend. "Besides martial arts and samurai training, Momma was the one who taught me all of my manners, kind-heartedness, and whatnot. Serena's tougher than I am, so basically, I get all of my heart from my mom."

"I'm guessing it runs in the family," Antonio estimated.

"Pretty much. For eighteen generations, the Yellow Ranger has always been the heart of the team. At least, in retrospect."

"Eighteen generations?" Emily nodded again. "That's…"

"A little over three centuries, Antonio. Approximately."

"Wow. I'm learning more about this Samurai business day after day," Antonio replied. "How do all five of you guys come together? I mean, life has had to happen some times. Like death, marriage, miscarriages, stuff like that."

"It has happened, Antonio," Emily said. "To be honest, at one point or another, the line was broken in some ways. None of us, Jayden, Kevin, Mia, Mike, nor I, are actually _'direct descendants'_ of the First Generation. I mean, yeah, we are part of the family. We have their blood running through our veins, but we're born from relatives of them. If that makes sense."

"How do the family lines stay intact?" Antonio pondered. "I mean, some family lines die out after a few generations because there are no heirs."

"Some powerful force," Emily surmised. "Maybe fate, destiny perhaps. The Emperor who initially commissioned the First Generation must have been some powerful wizard maybe. Good but powerful. I have no idea, Tonio. Jii doesn't know either."

"That's saying something…"

"Yeah it is." Jii may have been their mentor, two generations in a row now, but he wasn't perfect. There were a few things he didn't know.

"Would you say that you guys are the reincarnations of the first five Samurai?" Antonio asked. "Like _Avatar: the Last Airbender_, where the Avatar is reincarnated every lifetime into a different elemental tribe?"

Emily shrugged. "Well, the Powers within us act something like that. There's only one Red, one Blue, one Pink, one Green, and one Yellow, and now one Gold. The Transfer of Power is possible, where two people share the same power, but it has to be the same generation, like siblings or twins. But, in a nutshell, even if five generations are alive at the same time, there's only one Ranger out of all of those generations."

"Because there's only one Power."

"Exactly. Now you're catching on, Antonio. Maybe when you have kids someday, you'll share the Gold with them, if they want."

"It would be cool, you know, having a legacy to pass down…" Antonio suddenly stopped and held out his arm for Emily to grab and hold on to.

She did. "What is it? Why'd we stop?"

He pointed to a little crack in the blacktop beside them, which was colored red. "What is that?"

"Get closer." They did, and the two knelt down beside the red crack. "This, Antonio, is Sanzu River water."

Antonio reached with his finger to get a sample, but Emily grabbed his wrist.

"Don't touch it. It will _literally _burn your skin off."

"That dangerous, huh?" Antonio surmised.

"Yep," Emily replied, flipping out her Samuraizer, and pressed in a random number. Well, it may have been random to others, but to Emily and Antonio, it was someone very important.

"_Hello? Emily, is everything okay?"_

Sounds of the others training were heard in the background. Well, actually, there were. They had stopped by now. "I'm fine, Jayden. Antonio and I found a spot where the Sanzu River is seeping into our world. You might want to check it out."

"_Okay. We'll be right there." _This was when an alarm was heard in the background. _"That's the Gap Sensor."_

"I know," Emily replied, her and Antonio staring out at the park, where Moogers were attacking. "Moogers at City Park. See you in a few." And she hung up.

And with her on her rollerblades and Antonio with a fishing pole, she and Antonio charged.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Sanzu River, Junk Ship**

"Oo-ah-oo, Master Xandred sure is most difficult at times like these," Octoroo rhymed.

"Times like what?" Dayu asked, stirring something in a cup.

"Master Xandred sometimes has power surges, and he is forced to lock himself up in his room while he tries to deal with it."

"Why doesn't he use his new powers to break the Seal placed upon him those years ago?" Dayu asked the obvious.

"Because the Seal is too strong for him to break. That's what his medicine is for. That's also why he needs the Sealing Symbol, so he can reverse it and become immune to it. Instead, since he is unable to do much else with his newfound powers, he creates replicas*."

"Replicas?"

"That is correct, Dayu, and these replicas are what help him deal with the pain when he is injured. They are his power source."

"I see. The potion is almost ready."

"Good. You know, you make the best antidotes, Dayu." He had made the poison, and now Dayu was making the antidote.

"Naturally."

A knock sounded on the wood outside the ship. "Permission to come aboard, Master Octoroo."

"Permission granted." A spider-like Nighlock came in board. "Arachnitor, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I heard Master Xandred is having another power surge."

"Oo-ah-oo, that he is. Why do you need to know?"

"Why not overthrow Xandred now? He is weak and vulnerable." Mutiny. That's what this Nighlock was proposing.

"Well, I–" The squid stuttered.

"Some on, Octoroo, you know you want to."

"Arachnitor…"

"Good. First plan of attack: _destroy the Gem_."

Something in Octoroo snapped.

"No, Arachnitor."

"No? Then what is the first plan of attack?"

"Throw you in the deepest dungeon we have," Octoroo stood his ground. "You are talking about committing mutiny right on Master Xandred's own ship. I will not help you overthrow my master."

"Rather protective of the Gem, aren't we?"

"It's not the Gem I worry about. It's Master Xandred. Master Xandred needs the Gem to successfully revive, and you want to destroy it?"

"Exactly. Once the Gem is removed, not only is Master Xandred destroyed, but the Samurai will also be down one."

"I. Will. Not. Help. You. You may go into the living world to cause misery but _that's it_. No mutiny. No touching the Gem. _At. All._ Got that?"

Arachnitor pretended to sigh in defeat. "Very well. Only to cause misery."

Once the spider Nighlock was gone, Dayu spoke up. She had been watching the whole thing and she was impressed. "For the first time in all of my existence, Octoroo, I admire you. Standing up for Master Xandred like that, especially to someone like Arachnitor must have been hard."

"Resisting temptation was hard, but my need to help Master Xandred take over the world overruled my own desires. Arachnitor is correct when he says that if the Gem is destroyed, Master Xandred is as well."

"What?"

"Yes, Dayu. They are connected, as if they are one being with two separate hearts. One cannot survive without the other." Octoroo cleared his throat. "That aside, is that antidote finished yet?"

"Just one more minute."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

"Why is it that we fight so hard, but the Sanzu River still finds a way to leak into our world?" Mia asked, the six Rangers gathering around the table and sitting down.

"I wish this wasn't happening," Mike muttered. The others agreed with him, silently, but they did.

Jii was pacing in circles around them, reading a book about ancient legends. "It's a good thing Antonio and Emily found that crack when they did." They had successfully sealed it up after the Mooger fight. "If it were any longer, the crack may have gotten too large to seal."

"True, but what else can we do?" Emily pointed out. "We've beaten the Nighlock every time."

"We can't think about winning or losing," Jayden softly cut in. "We have to believe in ourselves and keep fighting."

"Jayden's right," Kevin said. "We can't give up."

"But what if one day _'never giving up' _is not enough?" Mia asked, and Emily's stomach twisted at this thought. She knew Mia was just pointing out the reality, but it still tied her stomach in knots.

"I'm glad you brought that up, Mia," Jii said. "Because I may have found something that could help us." And Jii placed his book down on the table. On the open page was a drawing of a black box surrounded by nine animals.

"The Black Box?" Jayden asked, incredulously. "Jii, we can't –"

It appeared Jayden knew something the others didn't. Again.

"What is it?" Antonio asked, everyone else wanted to know.

After sharing a long, hard stare at Jayden, Jii replied, "It's a magic talisman created by Lord Kohaku Shiba, the very first Red Ranger. It is said it can unite the Symbol Powers of all of the Samurai Rangers into one."

"Okay, cool, so let's fire it up," Mike, ever the enthusiastic one, said.

"It's not that easy, Mike," Jayden gently said. "Lord Kohaku never finished the talisman."

"Many have tried," Jii said. "But none have the neither the skill nor the power to complete it."

Emily shared a knowing look with Antonio. "Hey, Antonio, maybe you can give it a try. You're a tech wiz."

"Yeah, you programmed a zord like it was mere coffee maker," Mike picked up on what Emily was getting at.

"Well…" Antonio began, but never finished.

"Yeah, but he doesn't have mastery over Symbol Power like we do," Kevin reasoned. "You know how much it drains us every time we use it? Sorry, but it may be too much for you, Antonio."

"Kevin's right," Jayden immediately backed him up. "Even transferring _a few_ of our Symbol Powers into the box could kill him. Sorry, Antonio, but I just can't ask you to take such a risk."

Emily leaned over, closer to Jayden. "Jayden, believe me, _none_ of us want to see Antonio get hurt. But this _is_ the fate of the world we're talking about."

"She's right," Mia added. "This is about saving the human race."

"Trust me, Jay," Antonio cut in. "I'm ready, willing, and able. Just say the word, and I'll do it."

Jayden hesitated. Putting Antonio at risk like this? Could he really do that? Then, again, he and the others took the same risks all the time.

And Emily was right. Again.

"Okay."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Pier 11**

While the others went to the Tengen Gate to retrieve the Black Box, Antonio was assigned to guard the city until they got back. So here he was, out fishing, again, and about to put in some music.

His Samuraizer buzzed.

He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"_Antonio! You need to come over here right now!"_ It was Mia. It sounded like she was in the middle of the fight.

"Why? What's wrong?" Antonio asked, while gathering up all his stuff.

"_Nighlock attack…Jayden poisoned…Emily in trouble…!"_ was all he caught before the line went dead.

"On my way!" Antonio replied, even though no one could hear him.

His friends were in trouble, especially _Jayden and Emily_, by the sound of Mia's voice and message.

And he'll be _damned_ if he didn't at least _try_ to save them.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Tengen Gate**

Fully morphed, Antonio unsheathed his blade and slashed Arachnitor multiple times, using his speed, and eventually, Emily was released from the Nighlock's chokehold.

He knelt in front of her, protecting her, and was forced to stand back and watch as red-colored ropes appeared through a gap and wrapped themselves tightly around Arachnitor.

"You, Arachnitor, shall pay for deceiving me!" Xandred…

Antonio's breath was caught in his throat, but it was set free when Arachnitor finally disappeared through the gap.

Antonio finally de-morphed and took a good look at his friends.

Jayden was nowhere in sight. Kevin, Mike, and Mia were down, de-morphed, and out. Emily was the same way, except…she wasn't breathing.

Antonio, shaking in fear and from adrenaline, pressed down on her chest a few times, before breathing into her mouth.

If this Nighlock was choking her, then she must have had no air left. If that was so, then he'd give it to her.

"Come on, Em…" He pressed down on her chest once more, before she finally began to cough. "Yes…" he sighed in relief.

Emily turned to the side and continued to cough. She let out one finally, almost sounding like a choke, and Antonio froze when she saw blood come out of her mouth.

But it seemed to make her feel better, because her coughing fit had stopped after this. "A-Antonio…" Cough. "J-Jayden…he's…" Cough, cough. "Jayden is…"

"Poisoned, I know," Antonio said, quietly. "Please, rest, Em."

"No…Jayden…" Cough. "Gone." Cough, cough. "Jayden is _gone_."

"W-What?"

"I-I was…" cough, "shielding him from Octoroo," cough, "and Deker came…and took him away…" Cough, cough. "I tried…to go after him…but the others were calling for help."

Another coughing fit started up after this, during which she choked up even more blood.

"Em, you need to rest. Your body's been through a terrible ordeal," Antonio replied, his voice and own body shaking.

"J-Jayden…he's…" Her world began to darken. "He's…"

"Gone," Antonio finished just as Emily passed out. "I know…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

_***The "replicas" concept is explained is "Comebacks and Intermissions", Chapter 15.**_

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 13: 11.5**_** – Boxed In**_

"_With the team down and Jayden gone, Antonio tries to juggle his many responsibilities that the others have unwillingly forced upon him, while Emily attempts to come to terms with almost being murdered."_


	13. Chapter 13: 11-5 - Boxed In

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

Also, if you dislike reading about _blood_ and whatnot, consider this as a fair warning. It's mainly mentioned in the beginning and again at the end, but I just want you to be careful.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_With the team down and Jayden gone, Antonio tries to juggle his many responsibilities that the others have unwillingly forced upon him, while Emily attempts to come to terms with almost being murdered."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 11.5: Boxed In**

_**September 13, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Jayden and Antonio's Room**

"_That's it?" Mike asked, as the Rangers arrived at the Tengen Gate. "The Tengen Gate is just a wooden arch?"_

_The other four stopped and bowed before passing through the arch. "The Tengen Gate is a very important part of Ranger history, Mike," Jayden replied._

Emily, eyes still closed, stirred. They were happy then. They were actually on a mission, but they were content.

"_Suzuki, your family has knowledge of antidotes using only plants as ingredients, do they not?" Daisuke asked her, when Jayden was writhing on the ground, due to the poison._

"_Yes, Sir," Emily replied, quickly. This was Jayden's life they were talking about._

"_Could you be so kind as to –?"_

"_Find an antidote?" Emily finished, and Daisuke nodded. "On it."_

Emily stirred again. Things only got worse from there.

"_Nighlock attack at the Tengen Gate!" A messenger announced._

"_We can't just leave Jayden behind!" Mike retorted, scared that he was actually going to lose a friend._

"_Just go!" Jayden yelled back at them, choking on the poison he had just accidentally taken. "I'll be fine."_

And off went Kevin, Mike, and Mia. Emily, in the present, staggered to find her breath. It only got worse.

_Emily knelt beside Jayden, his face red. He could barely speak. "Jayden?" She quietly called out, Daisuke and the messenger in the same room, working their butts off. "Can you hear me?"_

_Though his vision was blurry, he opened his eyes and nodded. "I need you to drink this." She was holding a cup. "It's chamomile tea, with some hawthorn. Perfectly safe."_

_As she assisted him in drinking the tea, Daisuke knelt down beside her._

"_It's not a mutual antidote, but it should help," she explained._

"_And it should buy us some time," Daisuke finished. Emily nodded._

"_Oo-ah-oo, I have the antidote right here. I'll give it to you, if you tell me what the Sealing Symbol is."_

_Emily had morphed and fought off Octoroo, attempting to retrieve the antidote by force, but the fight was interrupted by Deker. And one minute Jayden was there, and Emily took a call from the others, and when she hung up, Jayden was gone._

_And with no other choice, Emily ran to help the others._

Emily's hazel eyes finally snapped open. She took in a deep breath, which was a big mistake because it caused her to start coughing again.

She calmed down when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Emily…" came a familiar voice, seemingly belonging to the hand.

"M-Mentor…w-what happened?"

"You passed out, Emily, at the Tengen Gate, remember?"

"_J-Jayden…he's…" Her world began to darken. "He's…"_

"_Gone," Antonio finished just as Emily passed out. "I know…"_

She had been choked by the Nighlock. She could feel the large bandage on her neck.

"A-Antonio…what happened to him?"

"Nothing. He's fine. He's here at the House, checking up on the others."

"A-And h-how are they?"

"Injured, but fine. You took the worst blow, Emily," Jii solemnly stated. "You need to rest." Jii stood up to leave.

Emily took a look at her surroundings. "T-This…isn't my room…or the recovery room…"

Jii stopped at the doorway, sad and hesitant. He heard the news about Jayden. "No. You're in Jayden and Antonio's room."

"W-Why…" cough, "am I in here?"

Jii was rather reluctant to reply. "Because you are very sick. We don't know if it's contagious or not, so we've placed you in a separate room."

She was sick? Oh, yeah…

She was coughing up blood earlier.

Emily glanced back at Jii, who did not return her stare. He was still by the doorway. "H-Have you found…J-Jayden yet?"

He paused again. "No. Not yet. Don't worry. He's only been gone for at least twenty hours. We'll find him soon."

And with this, Mentor Jii left Emily to rest up.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

"How bad is she?" Antonio asked Jii as soon as the old man entered the room.

"Pretty bad, and extremely worried about Jayden. How are the others?"

"Awake, still in pain, but very, very worried about Jayden and Emily both…"

"I see…the odds are not in our favor this time," Jii replied.

"Then, we'll turn them to our favor," Antonio bursts out. "Let's get to work on that Black Box. The sooner we finish it, the better."

"Alright, but be careful, Antonio. Using Symbol Power is incredibly draining. Don't over do it."

"And who told me the whole world was at stake here?" Antonio gently shot back. "Relax. If I pace myself and I take breaks sometimes, I'll be fine."

He flipped open his morpher, and pressed a few buttons. He pressed enter, and a lot stream of "light" kanji symbols swam toward the Black Box.

But after a few seconds, the stream stopped.

"Antonio?"

"Sorry. I can't stop thinking about Emily, how much pain she's in."

"You saved her life, Antonio, before it was too late. If it weren't for you, she'd be _dead_," Jii pointed out.

"Not just that, Mentor…Jayden…she's so worried about Jayden. Always. Always before herself."

"I understand, Antonio, but that's just how Emily is," Jii replied. "But, you need to concentrate. Symbol Power requires a lot of focus."

"Right. The fate of the entire world comes first," Antonio mumbled.

And Antonio got right back to work.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Recovery Room**

"_Be careful, Antonio. Keep in mind, if there's another Nighlock attack, you're the only Ranger that's healthy enough to respond."_

Mia glanced up when she heard some rustling, and she noticed that Kevin was rising to his feet.

"Kevin," she called, getting both his and Mike's attention. "What are you doing? You need to rest."

"I can't rest at a time like this. Jayden is missing, Emily is dying, and I have to find some way to help."

"No, you need to rest up. We all do," Mia gently retorted, trying to get him to lay back down. "And none of us know for sure if Emily is really dying or not."

"It's all my fault."

"What?" Mia asked him, incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"If I hadn't told you to call Emily for back up, she could have put up a better fight against Deker and Octoroo, and Deker wouldn't have taken Jayden. And if Deker didn't take Jayden, Emily wouldn't have been forced to aid us and almost get killed right before our eyes."

"Kev…" Mike muttered, both him and Mia realizing how true this was.

"I'm a _failure_. Emily almost _died_ and Jayden is _missing_, all because of _me_!"

"_Shut up_!" Mike nearly yelled, but successfully caught Kevin's attention. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Instead of wallowing in your self pity, determine what you can do right the next time."

"However much I dislike Mike's _attitude_," Mia spoke up, "I do agree with what he's saying. You couldn't have known that Emily was Arachnitor's target. None of us could have guessed that. All we can do is resolve to never be so useless in that particular situation ever again."

"Right…" Kevin muttered. "_Admit your flaws aloud, and resolve to become a better person_…that's true strength in Emily's eyes…"

"Yeah. Let's help each other." Mia said. "Trust me. We'll _all_ be ready next time."

Mike and Kevin both nodded.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Jayden and Antonio's Room**

Jii was coming back from the kitchen, getting tea for the Rangers, when he came across Jayden and Antonio's room. He paused and stopped right outside the door upon hearing the following conversation.

"A-Antonio…" it was Emily. Was she still awake? "W-Why…why did Jii put me in yours and Jayden's room?"

"Actually, I carried you here," came Antonio soft reply. He was currently taking a break from his work on the Black Box, taking Jii's advice to _'pace himself'_. "I thought that if you were in Jayden's room or something, it would help ease the pain of him not being here."

"Jii…said it was because I was sick. That's not true?"

"Actually, it is. You really are sick, Em, and Jii asked me to carry you to another room, preferably yours, but…I disagreed, and I carried you into Jayden's instead. Did my idea work?"

"Somewhat…" came Emily's shaky voice. "Thank you, Antonio."

"Anything for a friend." Antonio got up to leave. "I've got to go and get back to work. I'll be by later to check up on you."

"Wait, Antonio!" This outburst, unfortunately, caused yet another coughing fit. Once she was calm enough to continue speaking, she asked, "Promise me…that you'll save Jayden…please, make sure he's okay."

Antonio noted the tears running down her face, and he nodded. "I swear on my own life. Trust me. I will."

And Antonio quietly left the room, with one thing on his mind:

Emily's love for Jayden ran _deeper_ than he first thought.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

Antonio collapsed on a cushioned seat, completely exhausted, "There. Formatting's done."

"Now comes the really dangerous part: infusing the Black Box with everyone's symbol powers," Jii stated.

"That's where we come in," Kevin announced, as he, Mike, and Mia ambled into the room, fully dressed.

"You shouldn't be out of bed!" Jii retorted.

"Antonio can't take this all on his own," Kevin replied. "We're here to help."

"And besides, we don't care about us," Mike added. "At this point, we only care about Emily being well rested and recovered."

"Relax, guys. I'm fine."

The others turned to see Emily standing in the same room, still in her pajamas.

"Emily…you were almost killed. You've just been through a terrible ordeal," Jii began.

"You think I don't know that?!" She suddenly yelled aloud. "All I've been able to think about since the attack yesterday is how I've been the victim of attempted murder! I know what happened to me, and I've accepted it! I don't need any reminders!"

Emily, in all honesty, had connected the dots. She realized that Arachnitor must have been a Nighlock who wasn't happy being under Xandred's ruling, and so he committed mutiny.

How could she tell? So far, no single Nighlock had severely hurt Emily, or at least, attempted to. If they did, it was solely on accident.

And the others reminding her of this was like them stabbing her over and over again. Arachnitor was after her due to her connection to Xandred as the Gem. And every time she was reminded of the attack, it only became more painful.

The truth only became more difficult to hide.

Emily paused when she noticed the others were quiet and had backed off. "Sorry for yelling…" she said. "But I'm not afraid. Even if you guys won't let me fight, at least I'm strong enough to look for Jayden."

"Jayden would want you to rest, Emily," Jii gently retorted, her words etched into his heart. "He wouldn't want you to put yourself at risk…not for him."

"I know…" But she was willing to do so anyways.

The gap Sensor, unfortunately, chose that time to go off.

And Emily turned from the red flashing light to Mentor Jii, and continued, "but if I risked myself for the fate of the world, he'd understand."

She then walked up to Antonio and placed her Yellow Ape disk in his hand.

"Emily, what are you doing? You're going out into battle! I can't take this!"

"Emily is not going anywhere," Jii ordered firmly.

"Yes, I am," Emily replied in an equal manner. "And don't worry about it, Antonio. I'll make do without it, and I know that Jayden would want you to finish the Black Box before anything else."

"But–!"

"I'll be fine, Tonio. I'm a Samurai, remember? I refuse to stop fighting, even if my life depended on it."

And as she walked out of the House, Jii couldn't help but reflect that her last statement there actually wasn't too far from the truth.

"Let's go, Mia, Mike," Kevin spoke aloud. "She can't do this alone."

"No, she can't," Mike replied, placing his Green Bear Disk over Emily's, Mia and Kevin following his lead.

"But, you guys…you can't fight without these," Antonio protested, worried about the current situation.

"Like Emily said, we'll make do without them," Mia replied, as she and Mike followed Kevin to the fighting area. "And we are Samurai, remember? We'll never give up."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

_**September 14, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Recovery Room**

As Emily stirred where she was, she felt a major vibe of déjà vu. Didn't this happen to her before? When? Where?

_Emily arrived on the battlefield, ready to morph into her yellow spandex from her yellow pajamas. She was barefoot, her hair disheveled. Bruises all over her body, most of them hidden, besides her face and forearms._

Yeah._ Not the type of person who looked ready for a fight._

_Not that she _felt_ any better. She felt really tired and ready to collapse any minute now._

_She knew Jii was right. She should have stayed behind at the House and recovered. He never would have let her go after Jayden alone, especially in her condition._

_But she was a fighter, and she had put up one hell of an argument. And now here she was._

_Because, despite his probable protests, Jayden would understand if she gave her life to save the human race._

"_Emily, wait!" came a familiar female voice._

_Kevin, Mia, and Mike ran up and stopped beside her._

"_Emily, please. Go back home and rest," Mia continued._

_Emily shook her head, not trusting herself to speak, in fear she would start coughing up blood again._

"_Stop being so stubborn, Em," Mike quietly pleaded. "Go. Back. Home. We can't lose you again."_

"_I'll. Be. Fine," Emily replied. "You guys'll have my back all the way. I trust you."_

_They paused upon hearing, assessing how true this was. Kevin said, in response, "Em…we know you trust us, but what if we fail? Retreat and recover, okay? We'll take care of this."_

"_It won't come to that, Kev," Emily answered. "And the Nighlock won't wait for me to catch up. They're relentless. _Samuraizer_!"_

And she morphed and charged into the fight. Emily, in the present, stirred again, slowly.

_The mutated Arachnitor was slowly sucking the life out of her again. And this time, Emily was way too weak to fight back._

"_Stop right there, Nighlock!"_

_This surprised Arachnitor so much, it made him drop Emily, who immediately coughed and gasped for the air she desperately needed._

_Emily glanced up in her dizzy and nauseous haze to see two figures, one gold and the other red._

_Red…_

_Emily smiled. She knew that voice was familiar._

Jayden._ He was actually back. He was here. Antonio kept his promise after all._

_Arachnitor mumbled at the two, and Emily heard Antonio reply, "Sorry, I don't speak 'snarl'."_

_And Emily slowly got up, her Spin sword in her hand. She still felt dizzy and exhausted as hell, but Jayden was back._

_And if Jayden was back, that meant her fighting spirit was back in full force too._

_Arachnitor snarled some more, not making any sense at all, but they could all tell, he was not happy with the fact that the last two Rangers were here on the battlefield._

_And Emily replied, "Well, it's the perfect present for a cowardly Nighlock like you, isn't it?" Arachnitor turned to her as her Spin Sword morphed into her trusty Earth Slicer. "_Samurai Ranger Yellow, ready_."_

_Mia brandished her fan. "_Samurai Ranger Pink, ready_."_

_Mike pointed his Forest Spear at his enemy. "_Samurai Ranger Green, ready_."_

_Kevin pulled the lever on his Hydro Bow, but did not release. "_Samurai Ranger Blue, ready_."_

"Samurai Ranger Gold, ready_."_

"Samurai Ranger Red, ready_." Hearing his voice, to Emily, made her feel like nothing was wrong with her. Unlike most girls with a crush, Jayden's voice didn't make her swoon and weak in the knees. It made her _stronger_. Always. "_Rangers Together_…"_

"Samurai Forever_!"_

_Arachnitor snarled angrily in response, but the Rangers were not fazed. Not this time._

And for the first time in days, Emily had smiled, brighter than ever before. And her happiness allowed her to open her eyes without any problems, unlike before.

"Hey," came a very familiar baritone voice. She turned her head to face the voice, and smiled again.

"Jayden, you really are back." Jayden was caught a little by surprise as Emily suddenly wrapped her arms him.

He let out a chuckle as he returned Emily's surprise-attack hug. "Yes, I am."

As Emily reluctantly released the hug, she asked, "What happened?"

"You passed out after the Mega Battle yesterday," Jayden replied. Time to get down to business. "You put up one hell of a fight, though. Antonio told me everything about Arachnitor and you being his target. I'm sorry I wasn't there, Em."

"Relax, Jayden. The others do protect me when you're not around."

"Good to know. Anways…what else? Oh, yeah…Arachnitor escaped, and Antonio wasn't able to finish the Black Box." She recalled both memories, one of Arachnitor retreating, and the other of Antonio regretfully informing them that he wasn't able to complete his mission. "He's taking many breaks, too many according to Jii, but if he doesn't, he'll die."

"That's good. None of us want to see Antonio get hurt."

"Or anyone of us, for that matter." Emily nodded. "Speaking of which, how do you feel?"

"A _lot_ better than yesterday."

"That's because Jii found a special tea that successfully healed you, voice, throat, lungs, and all."

"Good. Thank you."

"You did wake up a few times, but you were really out of it. I doubt you remember…" Emily shook her head. "That's what I thought. But even though you're feeling much better, Jii still wants you to recover for a couple more days."

"As long as a Nighlock doesn't attack in that time period," Emily replied, "I can do that." Jayden noticed her go very quiet.

Two rounds with this Nighlock, both times, only after Emily. Emily must have been traumatized, to a certain extent. Maybe scared too.

So he leaned over closer to her. "Trust me, Em. Arachnitor won't bother you ever again. I personally see to that. I promise."

This made Emily break out a little smile.

'_Your soft spot for the Yellow Ranger blinds you to other options,'_ Deker had told him. _'Soon you will become warped and twisted, like me. And it will happen against your own will, like it did for me.'_

On second thought, not just Arachnitor. Deker too.

Truth be told, he never wanted more power in his entire life than he did right now. He didn't want that Black Box. He _needed_ it. To keep his promise.

_To protect Emily._

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

Later that same day, Emily had woken from her nap just in time for dinner, which the others were willing to bring into the recovery room so they could all eat together.

Jayden passed by the recovery room, and he paused and backtracked, not believing what he was seeing at first.

"Hey, guys," Jayden spoke up, to the others who were surrounding Emily's bed. "What's up?"

"Jii let us order pizza for dinner, Papa Murphey's," Mike replied, setting the platter down on the table by Emily's bed, on which she was sitting criss-crossed. "And he also let us take it in here and share with Emily."

"And while chowing down on this pizza, we're going to think of new strategies to beat these more powerful Nighlock," Mia added. "Wanna join us?"

"No, thanks," Jayden replied, Deker's words from earlier echoing in his mind. "But have fun."

"Okay," Emily's smile faded a bit, but it was still there. "No problem. It's your choice, and we'll be right here waiting for you if you change your mind."

Jayden returned her light smile and continued walking, but paused upon going over Emily's words.

'_It's your choice.'_

Deker was wrong. Everyone had a choice. And there was no way he was going to let his soft spot for Emily dictate his fate. There was no way he would let it control him. Emily didn't make him weak.

It only made him _stronger_.

Once again, Emily was _right_.

Jayden backtracked, and entered the recovery room where the others. "Actually, I did change my mind," he announced, quietly. "Kevin, could you pass me a slice, please?"

He received five smiles and pizza slice on a plate in return.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 14: 13.5**_** – Hair Day**_

"_In Asian cultures, in the old days, cutting your hair signified being banished from home. However, in the most recent days, it symbolized starting fresh and beginning anew."_


	14. Chapter 14: 14-5 - Hair Day

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

I also got the idea for this chapter from the story "Ribbons and Curls" by Insert a Catchy Penname Here. Go ahead and check it out.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_In Asian cultures, in the old days, cutting your hair signified being banished from home. However, in the most recent days, it symbolized starting fresh and beginning anew."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 14.5: Hair Day**

_**December 31, 2012**_

**Shiba House, Kitchen**

_**Tooya.**_ He was the first Nighlock she fought against. Well, technically, Jayden was the one who defeated him, while the other four dealt with the Moogers. Still, it was the first Nighlock she ever faced in her entire life, not counting all the nightmares with Xandred in them.

_**Scorponic.**_ He was the first Nighlock who forced them to be a team. He was the Nighlock who, not only first forced them to find the same resolve, but also gave Emily the chance to first reflect on her current position and strength compared to the team. She was the weakest, the one with the least experience. They were professionals, while she was just an amateur. It was from then on that she decided to really take her training seriously.

_**Rofer.**_ He was the Nighlock who Mike first had an issue with. Rofer was the one who forced Mike to take his work seriously, and after his two friends got hurt, Mike was more than happy to do so. With Rofer, Mike first found his own resolve.

_**Doubletone.**_ Against him, Kevin first found _his _resolve, with Mia's help. And together, they overcame the obstacles, and maybe even found sparks and possible love along the way.

_**Dreadhead.**_ Against him, Jayden overworked himself to perfect his skills with the Beetle Disk. Against Dreadhead, Emily nearly lost her _'mojo'_ and almost spilled her dark secret to the others. But her own words convinced Jayden to keep training, to keep going when all seemed dark. And Jayden's dedication strengthened her resolve. Dreadhead made her realize that one of her greatest strengths was her hope and optimism.

_**Negatron.**_ He was first Nighlock Emily had a real problem with, but he was also the first one who allowed her to show her physical strength. Her problem with him was not the insults he threw at her. It was the insults he threw at the others. Seeing them get hurt and struggle with their own problems because of Negatron just made her so mad. So mad that she couldn't help but go all out on Negatron. Against him, Emily found her reason for fighting, not just the Nighlock, but also her curse.

_**Yamiror.**_ Kevin was the only one who didn't get sick, but it was because of his dedication to get the Swordfish Zord and the real meaning of teamwork that they were able to win.

_**Dayu.**_ It may have been their first battle with her, but it wouldn't be their last. Mia took this mission pretty seriously, having been dressed up as the bride twice.

_**Deker.**_ Like Dayu, this wouldn't be their last battle with him. Actually, they didn't fight him at all. He just stepped in and saved Dayu, and then together, they retreated and left the Giant Moogers to deal with the Rangers.

_**Madimot.**_ He was a particularly hard and dangerously one. He had meant to take control over Emily, but it was Kevin he got. Emily took it the hardest, and even though Jayden made the disk and the plan, it was Emily who carried out that plan. It took a toll on her innocence, however. She had to fight Kevin, one of her _brothers_. She managed to snap out of it thanks to Jayden, but it still affected her.

_**Despairino.**_ There were only five words to explain it: Mike finally found his maturity. He stopped being such a kid, finally started taking life itself seriously. He was still a goofball, but now, he was more adult-like.

_**Robtish.**_ This Nighlock was one of the tough ones. Jayden lost his resolve, due to the others getting hurt on his behalf, but the next day, after a long time apart from his team, he found it again.

_**Vulpes.**_ He was Antonio's first Nighlock. He hadn't made a good first impression, what with _'kidnapping'_ Emily to make her his ally, but he did make a good, and very fast, Ranger.

_**Steeleto.**_ He was Antonio's chance at redemption, his second chance to be on the team. The others couldn't really see Antonio for who he really was. But, thanks to Emily, along with Mike and Mia, Antonio got his second chance.

_**Antberry.**_ He was the Nighlock who allowed Kevin and Antonio to really bond and stop fighting. Antberry was the Nighlock who forced Kevin and Antonio to set aside their differences and start being friends, because the true essence of being a Samurai was not how you trained. It was how strong your will to fight and help others was.

_**Splitface.**_ Emily didn't fight very long with this one. She was trying to get away from Dayu and her Birthday Message. Eventually, being tired of running and wanting everything to stop, she eventually stopped time, unfreezing only Jayden.

_**Souleater.**_ She wasn't having any confidence issues when facing this one, but she and Jayden were in quite the awkward situation, acting as a rich lady and her butler, the former of whom was supposedly engaged to the rich heir Jonathon Stone. But against this Nighlock, Emily discovered that her feelings for Jayden were possible more than a brother.

_**Arachnitor.**_ He was the first Nighlock who deliberately disobeyed orders fro Xandred himself. He was the first Nighlock who hurt Emily on purpose. They had yet to defeat him, two rounds already, but all six of them had all made resolves to defeat him as soon as he came back.

_**Octoroo.**_ Only Emily had fought against him, once, while trying to defend Jayden at the Tengen Gate. Unfortunately, she had failed, because Deker had taken him when she was busy with Octoroo.

_**Rhinosnorus.**_ Only Kevin and Mike got to fight him for long periods of time. She, Mia, and Antonio had been put to sleep. Kevin and Mike had joined them through Jayden's Symbol Power, and the latter had been exhausted from making the portal for Kevin and Mike. The second round with Rhinosnorus had only been the five who had gone to the Dream World, while Jayden was forced to face Deker alone. Fortunately, they managed to defeat both enemies, and even though Jayden was injured severely, they all got out of it okay.

And now here they were, six days after Christmas Day, about only five to six hours away from New Years'.

"Em?"

Emily glanced up into Mia's brown eyes. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. You were saying?"

"I asked you what your New Years' resolutions were," Mia replied, stirring the cause to the pasta she was making, with Emily's help.

"Can't tell you."

"Why not?" Mia asked. "Too shy? Don't have any yet?"

"No," Emily calmly replied "It's just that Jii's holding a party later today after dinner, remember? Then, we can talk about our resolutions and about how the past year went. I'm waiting till then."

"I see," Mia said. "That's a good idea. I might do that, too."

Emily went back to her train of thought, which began to head to another destination.

After a few moments of silence, as the delicious smells of the dinner they were cooking filled the kitchen air, Emily finally spoke up, again, "Mia…could you…cut my hair?"

"What?" Mia was confused, to say the least. "Why?"

"I don't know…" Emily muttered. "I just feel like trying something different."

"Sure. We'll do it after dinner."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Girls' Restroom**

About an hour and thirty minutes later, after dinner, Mia had dragged Emily to the girls' restroom, right after she asked Mike and Kevin to wash the dishes. They were paying hardly any attention to her, and they said they would without second thought, only snapping out of it when Mia thanked them and she and Emily were halfway through the door, as Jayden and Antonio laughed in the background.

Now, here they were in the restroom they shared. Mia had her hair products out and ready to go.

As Mia dampened Emily's hair with a spray bottle, she asked, "What style, Em?"

"Short and straight, please," Emily replied. Right now, her blonde hair was long and curly. Yes, it was very different, but she had her reasons.

As Mia got to work, she asked her sister-figure, "So, why the change, Em?"

"I told you I felt like something different."

"And this is the part where I say I don't believe you," Mia replied, lightly, as she continued to trim Emily's hair. "How short?"

"Little past the shoulders," Emily said. "And fine. I'll tell you. I want to change my hair to make it match my New Years' resolution."

"Oh," was Mia's response. "And would you care to tell me what it is?"

Emily hesitated. "Sorry, but…it's kinda private."

"Oh, okay. I understand." And Mia used to following long silence to continue working on Emily's hair.

Emily's resolution was actually more than one part.

_**In Asian cultures, in the old days, cutting your hair signified being banished from home.**_

That equaled Emily not belonging anywhere, due to her destiny as Xandred's Portal. As the Gem, she felt like she was banished from home, both blood-related and surrogate.

But she had resolved, no matter what, even if she really was kicked out of both of her homes, that she would keep fighting against her destiny, her fate, even if everything was dark and hopeless.

_**However, in the most recent days, it symbolized starting fresh and beginning anew.  
**_

That equaled Emily not being able to do anything about her friends getting hurt. She didn't care about herself getting hurt, but if the others got hurt trying to guard her, then she couldn't take that.

And she realized that, she resolved that, no matter what, she would also fight for the others, her friends, her _family_.

All in all, Emily's resolution was to keep fighting, because for the life of her, she was not hopeless and weak. People always told her that she was hopeful and strong. Sure, she had doubts about herself, but from now on, she would not let that effect her or the way she fights, or how hard she fights.

"Em?" Mia spoke up, cutting through Emily's train of thought. She wasn't done yet, only almost done with straightening her hair.

"Yeah?" Emily quietly replied.

"When I'm done with yours, could you do my hair?"

Emily smiled. "Sure."

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Meeting Room**

It was just about three and a half hours later. All of the dishes had been washed and put away, showers had been taken, pajamas had been put on, and a New Year's party was all set up and ready to go. The four guys were already out there, Mentor Jii in the library doing some research. They were all just waiting on the girls.

"How longer do you think they're gonna take?" Kevin asked. Mike and Antonio shrugged.

"Knowing girls, they'll probably take another twenty minutes," Mike mumbled.

"Hey, we take offense to that, Hayashi," Mia spoke up.

Mike jumped up in surprise. "Mia! We were just talking about you!" They then faltered upon seeing and noticing something different about her.

"Wow, Mia…did you do something with your hair?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah," she replied, fingering the ends of her black hair. Her hair was straight, with a little trim, and her bangs were now slightly parted to the right side. "Just thought I'd try something different. You like it?"

The last question was directed at Kevin, who gave her a smile and nodded. "Of course. You're perfect just the way you are, Mia."

The two gave each other a side hug, as she also smiled sweetly at him.

Jayden smiled at this exchange, but then he asked, "Where's Emily?"

A soft voice behind him sounded, "Right behind you."

Jayden turned around and when he saw Emily, he smiled.

Emily's hair was straighter and a lot shorter, but her bangs were still swept to the right, held in place by the hairclip he gave her.

She looked very, very pretty…

Oh, gosh…did he really say that?

"You looks very nice, Em," he said.

She sent a sweet smile his way, her cheeks turning red. "Thank you."

"There's nothing wrong with it, but…" he lightly chuckled. "Why the change?" This seemed to bring the attention of Mia to the spotlight, as well as everyone else's.

Emily knew this very well, but it was Jayden who asked the question. "Because it fits very well with my resolution, and cutting my hair makes it…real, official."

She didn't smile when saying that, but she trusted Jayden enough to understand why. He knew things the others didn't. Of course, the others would understand it, but Jayden would probably be the only one to get how deep it went.

Only he probably knew what cutting your hair really meant in the Japanese culture.

And for now, that was enough for her.

"Well," Jii cuts through the semi-comfortable silence. "We only have a few minutes until the party starts."

Emily nods at that, and walks up to a sitting Jayden. She reaches up and fingers his hair, acting like she's pondering over something big.

"I believe you, Sir, need a haircut."

Jayden silenced the silently chuckling others with a nervous glare.

Despite the protests in his mind, Emily dragged Jayden into the restroom anyways, while Mia was the only one who dared to keep laughing, as if she was expecting this.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 15: 15.1**_** – Root Beer Floats**_

"_With everyone exhausted after the fight that they won with the Black Box, the rest of the day should be easy. Right?"_


	15. Chapter 15: 15-1 - Root Beer Floats

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_With everyone exhausted after the fight that they won with the Black Box, the rest of the day should be easy. Right?"_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 15.1: Root Beer Floats**

_**January 3, 2013**_

**Shiba House, Girl's Restroom**

Kevin knocks on the girls' bathroom door. It's closed and locked, but that's not what he's worried about.

It's who's on the other side of that door.

He knocks again. "Mia? You alright in there?" She's been in there for almost thirty-five minutes. Something's bugging her.

But he doesn't know what.

And that's what bugs _**him**_.

He knocks on the door for a third time when Mia doesn't answer.

And this time, she opens the door, leaving Kevin relieved, but still concerned.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Your compassion is heartwarming, Kev," Mia replies, "but I'm fine."

"Well, it's just that…" Kevin feels awkward, but pushes on anyways, "you've been in here for half an hour. I got worried."

"I'm fine," Mia repeats. "I just wanted to take a shower, both to clean up the blood and dirt, and before Mike has a chance to take all the hot water."

"You usually take ten minute showers. Any reason as to why this one was longer?" He has a fleeting feeling he already knows what her answer will be, but he wants to make sure.

"I also wanted to wash my hair…at least three times…"

_**He knew it.**_

She wanted to wash the Sanzu River water out of her burnt hair ends.

And Kevin is quiet.

"Do you feel…violated?"

She honestly replies, "I don't know."

"You want me to cut off those burnt ends for you?" He offers.

"Please?"

He gently smiles at her and, grabbing a pair of scissors, swiftly complies.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

It's only natural that Emily would be so tired. She used up a lot of Symbol Power today: _**two morphs, two ground fights, one Megazord battle, one Super Samurai Battle Cannon fire, and sealing up twenty plus gaps**_.

That combined with various injuries she had sustained throughout the day: _**two chokeholds, one near death experience, two fights with their own set of injuries, and one burnt hand**_.

This was a long day for her, for all of them actually.

Which is why Jayden does not protest when Emily falls asleep, _with her head in Jayden's lap_.

Well, for the first part. The second part is due to the fact he's _**finally**_ accepted his true feelings for her. _**(Which he will not share with Kevin, Mike, or Antonio no matter what.)**_

Now that he knows and has accepted those feelings, Jayden looks back on the puzzle of the past year and puts all the pieces back together.

_**Good God, everything makes perfect sense now.**_

Why he thinks she's beautiful and perfect just the way she is. Why he likes being so close to her. Why he likes seeing that bubbly smile of hers. Why he hates seeing her so sad and/or angry. Why's he's so protective of her. Why he yearned for the Black Box ever since they retrieved it from the Tengen Gate.

He doesn't like her. He _**loves**_ her.

He wanted that Black Box to be able to protect her, that Black Box he currently holds in his hand and is gazing upon now.

Round One against Arachnitor resulted in Jayden being poisoned by Octoroo and kidnapped by Deker, and all but Antonio injured, Emily more so than the others. But Arachnitor had done that on purpose. And just the mere thought of that made his blood boil.

Round Two resulted in not only the reunion between Jayden and the others, but Emily passing out due to her injuries from the previous round combined with the injuries from Round Number Two. She stood her ground well, and she hid her fatigue until after the trouble had passed, but it put a serious strain on her body. After all the Giant Moogers were destroyed from their Megazords, Emily finally allowed the darkness to overtake her.

Round Three resulted in yet another attempted murder session and Emily passing out again, almost. Luckily, Jayden had been there and was able to prevent any blood being shed that time. But this only strengthened Jayden's already rock-solid resolve and determination.

Round Four had resulted in the long-last defeat of Arachnitor and the first debut of their first Power-Up device. Jayden was also able to breathe a huge sigh of relief, because Arachnitor couldn't hurt Emily. Not anymore.

Emily may have sustained more injuries due to today, and she may be exhausted now, _**but at least she's still alive.**_

She may not return his feelings, but he's content with being her friend for now.

He'd rather be her friend than nothing at all.

Emily stirs in his lap, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a long while.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Mike and Kevin's Room**

"Mike?" Antonio finds his green friend lying face down on his bed. "You okay?"

Mike mumbles something incoherent, and Antonio leans forward to hear him better.

"Sorry, Bro. Didn't catch that."

Mike lifts up his head and repeats, "I said 'go away'."

"Not until you tell me why you're so upset."

"You wouldn't understand."

Antonio sits next to Mike on the bed. "Maybe I will."

Mike groans before turning over onto his back. "Okay, fine…Emily likes Jayden."

Antonio raises an eyebrow in slight confusion. "And?"

"And Jayden likes Emily."

Antonio nodded slowly, hoping Mike would elaborate. "And?"

"And I like Emily too!"

Mike's outburst silences Antonio for a minute while he digests that. "Oooohhh…you finally did some deep soul-searching." Mike curtly nods. "And long story short, you are jealous of their relationship."

"Yes," is Mike's reply.

Antonio continues, "But you're good friends with both of them and you only want them to be happy."

Mike lifts his head. "Yeah…that's exactly how I feel. You really do understand, Antonio."

"Yep. I mean, come on. None of us can read emotions as well as Emily can."

"How do you know all this anyways?" Mike sits up on the bed.

"Because I used to have a little crush on Mia," Antonio confesses. "But I began to see the way she and Kevin looked at each other, and still do. Eventually, I decided that Mia would be better off with Kevin, and I only wanted the two to be happy, so I let them go."

"Sorry, buddy," the Green Samurai sadly comments.

"Nah, it's fine," Antonio quickly shrugs it off. "I just figured it was a sign that Mia and I weren't meant to be. I mean, we're both still young. We're sure to find our girl sooner or later, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right…"

But Antonio stops Mike from saying anything else. "Don't rush through this. I know that sounded weird, but give yourself a chance to get over this, on your own terms. Okay? I know what it's like, and trust me, it hurts. But it'll hurt even more if just rush through the recovery."

Mike nods and the fisherman leaves his jokester friend to think.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

None of the Rangers know what await that when Jii gets back. By that time, they'll be well-rested, their emotional masks back on, and ready to go. But they won't know that Jii was gone until they walk into the kitchen to see their Mentor in there, making the very treat Jayden had suggested they make.

But Jii had to leave during the Rangers' rest and recovery.

After all, they didn't have root beer or ice cream anywhere in the House.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter. Check it out:

**Chapter 16: 15.2**_** – Shell Game**_

"_This Nighlock was probably the toughest one they'd ever faced so far, but Mike has an even bigger mission to execute: to keep Emily's heart from being broken."_


	16. Chapter 16: 15-5 - Shell Game

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

"_This Nighlock was probably the toughest one they'd ever faced so far, but Mike has an even bigger mission to execute: to keep Emily's heart from being broken."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story:** _Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 15.5: Shell Game**

_**February 5, 2013**_

**Shiba House**

All Mike wanted was some breakfast. It was morning, and he was not a morning person. He was hungry, and everyone knew he was cranky when hungry, as well as tired.

But put them together and you've got a Green Samurai you certainly don't want to mess with.

Mike massaged his aching temples. His physical moodiness only added to the pain he was already feeling.

That little pain slash aching hurt called jealousy.

Yep, the subject of Jayden and Emily together was still sore for him. Antonio was the only one who understood, so Mike would constantly come to him for advice on what to do.

But Antonio's answer was always the same: _**to give himself time**_.

He had actually gone to Jii last night, phrasing it as a hypothetical situation, and the advice he received from his mentor was to talk to them about it.

Yet Mike couldn't even bring himself to think about what he might say to either one of them.

Right now, this morning, all he wanted was to get breakfast, and hopefully end his _hungry_ rampage, at least.

But Mike paused when he got to the kitchen, right outside the door. His eyes widened upon seeing them, together no less.

He quickly moved out of the doorway, his heart beating fast. Did he really just see them together?

Mia without Kevin, and Mia with Jayden?

Under normal circumstances, they'd just be friends, but they were hugging, quite tightly and very closely. And for some odd reason, Mike didn't like that.

Emily would be crushed if she ever found out about this.

"Mike?"

His heart nearly jumped right out of his chest. Speaking of whom…

"E-Emily."

"Yes?"

"Y-You're here. I-I mean, you're awake."

"Were you expecting someone else?" Dear Lord, please don't send me that smile, he mentally pleaded.

Her smile was how he fell in love with her in the first place.

"No, uh…well, I, uh…" He cleared his throat. "How about we begin training?"

"But what about breakfast?" She asked, as he held her by her wrist and began to lead/pull her outside.

"We can get it later," was his reply.

He just wanted to get her away from that sight in the kitchen, away from the scene that he knew would break her heart if she ever found out.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Kitchen**

"Thank you, Mia," Jayden replied to the said female's own answer to his inquiry. "I'm sure Kevin will love it."

"You sure? You don't think I'll be coming on too strong?"

"I'm positive," but he paused upon taking a glance outside the kitchen window and the smile on his face faded.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked, before he pointed at Mike and Emily outside. Mike was acting too goofy for proper words, and Emily seemed to be enjoying it.

"What in the hell is Mike doing with Emily?" Jayden asked slowly, his smile gone and his eyes dark.

"Maybe she's having an off day and he's trying to cheer her up?" Mia suggested.

"She would have talked to me about it, at least." Besides, cheering Emily up was _**his**_ job, not Mike's. "Least to say, Mia, that didn't make me feel any better."

Mike knew that he liked Emily, so what was he up to?

"I know you're jealous," Mia replied. "That's why you need to confess to her before anybody else does. Listen, how about we go shopping for the ingredients for Kevin's cake. His birthday is only three days away, after all. Besides, I need to pick up dinner anyways."

Jayden inwardly groaned, but he reluctantly complied, unable to stop thinking about what the hell Mike was up to.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Outdoor Training Yard**

"Again, sorry about that," Emily said, motioning to the large boulder she had made with her Symbol Power.

"Don't worry about," Kevin replied. "It's actually pretty good."

"Thank you," Emily answered. As Kevin used his own Symbol Power to erode and get rid of the boulder, Emily noticed a slight movement off to the side, in one of the bushes. Kneeling down to get a closer look, Emily saw it. "It's a little duckling, from Jii's pond. He's caught in the branches. I'm gonna set him free."

As the front door opened to reveal you-know-who, Mike knelt in front of the bush next to Emily, saying, "I'll help you." If only to keep her distracted until _**they**_ left.

Kevin raised an eyebrow in confusion, as Jayden narrowed his eyes, before turning to Mia and Jayden.

The rustle of leaves of branches acting as a cover, Mia said, "We're going shopping for dinner."

Kevin managed to conceal a grimace, but he let them go.

Just as the two closed the front gate, Emily announced, "We got him. I'll go set him down by the pond with his momma."

"Okay," Kevin replied with a smile, as Mike breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Central Plaza**

_**Armadeevil.**_

That was the new Nighlock's name, and he had a shell that was as hard as Emily's boulder earlier.

It was just the five of them. For some odd reason, Antonio couldn't be reached.

Mike watched as Armadeevil's shell re-bounded Mia's air attack and sent her flying. Armed with her Earth Slicer, Emily charged, just narrowly missing the sight of Jayden catching Mia before she could hit the ground.

Mike glared at his leader through his helmet, before charging off to help Emily.

He knew he was supposed to be jealous of Jayden and Emily. He knew that very well.

But he couldn't help but feel that Emily's feelings always came first. And he wouldn't just stand by and watch Jayden break her heart.

He had to do something. Whether this was all a misunderstanding or for real, Mike had to take action _**now**_.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Main Library**

Mike growled at the scene before him. Kevin and Jii were there too, but he was only focused on _**them**_. They were at it again, and Mike hated it.

He thought they were just friends. Maybe he was wrong.

"Mike?"

Said Green Ranger nearly jumped out of his skin. Emily had scared him twice today, and he didn't like it.

"Oh, hey, Emily." He turned back to watching them.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm, uh…trying to read Kevin's book from a distance. It's actually kinda easy."

Emily gently shook her head, smiling. "Mike?"

"What?"

"I'm not fooled for an instant. What are you really doing?"

Her eyebrow was raised, her face un-amused. Mike caught her as she was about to enter the library and led her back to the wall.

"Mike, what are you hiding from me?" Oh, crud. She was serious now. Dead serious. And she was not someone to mess with.

"Fine," Mike sighed, finally accepting the fact that he couldn't hide this anymore. "I'm just trying to prevent the beautiful, yellow flower from being run over by the bulldozers in the pink and red shirts."

Emily rolled her eyes again and headed back towards the doorway of the library, Mike unable to find it in himself to stop her. Him trying to prevent her from being hurt only seemed to worsen the situation.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mike. Bulldozers don't wear shir – ts…" She paused and slowly finished her word.

She saw them. Kevin and Jii were in there too, but she only saw Jayden and Mia.

They were almost hugging, their faces close as he showed her an air-style Symbol. She smiled and turned to him, and, Emily's heart skipped a beat, he smiled back at her and they looked like they were about to kiss.

Mike let slip a low growl. _**How was Kevin not seeing this?**_ Or if he was, how could he not care?

"They like each other?"

"Mia, probably. Jayden, not sure yet," was his reply.

Beside him, Emily turned away from the doorway and backed up into the wall now behind her. She slowly slid down the wall to a sitting position, a smile no longer on her face.

"You okay?" he asked, sliding down the wall and sitting down next to her.

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat before she started to speak. "There are other girls. I thought it was just me who liked him, since we can't make much contact with citizens and Mia likes Kevin, but…I guess I was wrong."

"It's not your fault. She could be having an off day," Mike suggested.

"She'd go to Kevin."

"Maybe they're planning something," she wanted to try and make her feel better. "You know, Kevin's birthday is in three days. They could be planning that."

"With Kevin in the room? They wouldn't risk it."

_Yeah, but it would explain earlier this morning._

Was Jayden spending time with Mia to ease the blow of jealousy he most likely felt from Mike hanging out with Emily? _**(Probably. Mike wouldn't be surprised.)**_

Or was Jayden spending time with Mia to plan Kevin's surprise birthday party in three days?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was only trying to protect you, but I guess I ended up hurting you more."

"No, it's not your fault either. It's mine," Mike's heart broke a little when he heard her voice crack. "I was stupid to think a guy could actually like me more than a friend."

No, she wasn't. Mike knew both he _**and**_ Jayden liked her. She wasn't mistaken at all.

"Don't say that. It could just be a misunderstanding." He knew how much Jayden liked Emily. None taken on Mia (as well as himself), of course, but Jayden and Emily were cuter together. They were almost like _soul mates_. Kevin and Mia were the same way.

"You know, right now…I wish the world was just you and me."

"Then, it is," was his immediately reply. Whatever made her feel better. And he succeeded this time.

Because she tearfully smiled at him.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Outdoor Training Yard**

The five Rangers (with Antonio still unreachable) were now walking back to the House, the air around them filled with victory.

"Did you see me in Super Samurai mode?" Kevin asked, mainly Mia, who giggled.

"Dude, we all saw you," Mike replied. "And don't forget that the hole-in-the-ground was Emily's idea."

"Don't worry, Mike. I didn't forget," Kevin answered. "Thanks, Emily."

Emily smiled sweetly at him, her way of saying _**'you're welcome'**_.

"Nice job, too," Jayden told her, gently smiling at her, and Emily's own smile brightened. "All of you, actually." He still kept his eyes on Emily, though.

He had blocked an attack for her and Kevin. And even though he was successful, he still looked back to see if she was okay.

"Thank you," it had a double (actually triple) meaning behind it, but she knew Jayden understood what she meant (and Mike understood the third). "Now that all danger has passed, I'm gonna go find Antonio."

"I'll come with you," Jayden volunteered before Mike could.

As the two left for the pier, and Kevin for inside, Mia pulled Mike off to the side.

"Mike, what were you thinking?" Uh-oh. She sounded pissed.

"Huh?" Mike was slightly clueless.

"Earlier with Emily. It seemed like you were trying to get Jayden to be jealous," her glare was still there. She was still angry.

"I was trying to protect Emily from whatever was going on with you and Jayden," he quietly yelled back.

"She has nothing to worry about. Jayden and I are just friends. Nothing more," Mia truthfully explained. "I just recently found out I like Kevin, and Jayden had advised me to watch Kevin from a distance, to try and read him and see if he liked me too. Jayden was just there to help me interpret Kevin's body language. That and I was giving him tips on how to talk to Emily about _**his**_ feelings."

There was a really awkward silence between them for a couple of minutes.

Fortunately, Mike broke it. "Well, she may not have anything to worry about, but it appeared to both me and her that you guys were more than friends."

And Mia's face fell.

"Next time, you do something like this, try to keep Emily and me in the loop, okay?"

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Panorama City, Pier 11**

"Emily?" He asked.

"Yes?" She looked up at him, as they were walking, with those big, hazel eyes of hers.

"You do know there's nothing going on between Mia and me, right?"

_**Really?**_ "Yeah. You guys are just friends, right?" Guess it was just a misunderstanding, after all.

"Yeah. It turns out that Mia really does like Kevin. I was giving her advice on how to read Kevin's body language."

"His body language?" Emily asked. "What for?"

"To try and see if he likes her too. Because he won't spill. Not to me, not to Mike, to not Antonio, _**nobody**_."

"I can talk to him, see if I can read his emotions through his eyes."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. You can read emotions better than I can. Sorry, Em. I forgot about that. I'm sure if you asked Mia, she would say _'please, do so'_."

Twin smiles broke out between them.

_**And Emily knew then that they'd be okay.**_

As they continued to walk, Jayden and Emily finally found Antonio at his usual spot on the pier.

"There he is," Emily sighed in relief. "I'm glad he's okay."

"Me too," Jayden replied. "Now I won't feel so bad giving him grief for making us worry about him."

The two strolled forward, towards Antonio, who was listening to his music while fishing, before being stopped by Emily. She knelt down and picked up a silver-colored cell-phone.

_**Antonio's morpher.**_

Jayden rolled his eyes, giving off a little smile. "Looks like we have to bail him out. Again."

"I bet you he doesn't even know it's gone."

Jayden nodded in the direction of Antonio, his way of saying _**'let's go'**_. He tapped Antonio's shoulder, making the fisherman turn around and take off his headphones upon seeing who it was.

"Oh, hey guys!"

Emily smiled at him, before handing him his morpher, "I think you dropped something."

Antonio took his morpher from her with gratitude. "Woah, thanks. You know what Mentor would do to me if I lost this?"

Jayden rolled his eyes, before saying, "About that, you didn't check your messages at all, did you?"

Antonio raised an eyebrow before opening his morpher to see…

"34 missed calls?!" He looked up at his two friends. "What happened? What'd I missed? Are you guys okay?"

Jayden and Emily shared a look that said the same thing: _**"Let's make him sweat about it."**_

And so the two turned around and began walking back towards the House.

"What?! Oh come on! Don't leave me hanging! Oh, man, I was having such a really good day…" Antonio muttered as he began to pack up his stuff and chase after them.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

There we go. Main pairing is still Jemily._** (Nothing on Jia and Memily, of course. I think those pairings are cute too, but I only see them as siblings and nothing more.)**_

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter (the one that is quite a sore subject for Jemily fans, but I promise that everyone will be satisfied). Check it out:

**Chapter 17: 15.6**_** – Trading Places**_

"_Everything is fixed, but Mike is still a mess, and for him, things can't possibly get any worse. But the Nighlock Switchbeast will prove that karma is a jerk."_


	17. Chapter 17: 15-6 - Trading Places

A/N: Lately, I've noticed that "Top of the World" has some missing scenes in it, so this story is basically to fill in those gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Mr. Saban does and always will.

If you are confused, you might want to go back and read Top of the World first.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

_"Everything is fixed, but Mike is still a mess, and for him, things can't possibly get any worse. But the Nighlock Switchbeast will prove that karma is a jerk."_

**Top of the World ~ Side Story: **_Reading between the Lines_

**Chapter 15.6: Trading Places**

_**February 8, 2013**_

**Panorama City, Pier 17**

Mike had stormed off from training, but he wasn't try to show it in front of the others. He was in the city now, hoping to seek more advice from Antonio. The latter had mentioned going to a rummage sale at the pier, and Mike was aiming to meet him there.

Mike would later regret storming away from training like that, but he just couldn't stand to see them together. Even if Jayden and Emily belonged together, he couldn't contain his jealousy.

But Antonio...Antonio knew what to do. He knew what to say in a situation like this.

"Mike!" The said Green Ranger didn't have to turn around to see who was calling him.

But Emily was one of the two people he really didn't want to interact with right now. He needed to be alone.

"Mike!" Emily called out again, and this time he stopped. Could he really ignore Emily? Him stopping allowed her enough time to finally come up next to him, but he refused to look into her hazel eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Em," was Mike's answer.

"Giving Jayden a death glare isn't _'nothing'_, Mike," Emily gently retaliated. "Getting angry and storming away from the Shiba House isn't _'nothing'_. Nearly injuring Kevin during training isn't _'nothing'_. Something's obviously bothering you."

Mike paused while he found truth in her words. "You know me so well, Em."

"I know all of you. Special empathy, remember?" Mike couldn't deny the truth in this, so he didn't even try.

"Something is going on, Em, but please, stay out of it. It doesn't concern you."

_**Liar~! **_His mind screamed at him. _**It **__is__** about her! In fact, she's what this whole thing is about!**_

_**Shut up! **_His heart yelled back. _**She may not know it, but you're only trying to protect her.**_

_**But it's Emily, **_both his mind _and_ heart calmly spoke simultaneously. _**You can't lie to Emily.**_

"If it's not about me, then why do refuse to look me in the eyes?" Emily asked, and Mike grew quiet once again. "Since the eyes are the _'windows to the soul'_, when you don't keep eye contact with who you're speaking to, then that person will think you're dishonest. That's why my power only works with the eyes, Mike." She paused, letting that sink in, before continuing, "What's going on?"

"Nothing of your concern, Em," Mike tried to make eye contact with her, but he utterly failed. "Stay out of it."

_Please, _he mentally begged. He didn't want her to get hurt because of this.

"No, you helped me a couple days ago, when that weird thing was going on between Jayden and Mia. Now it's my turn," Emily declared, that familiar fire in her eyes. "Tell me. Maybe I can help."

"Em, stay out of it," Mike repeated, this time a little harsher than he wanted. Upon his now strict tone, Emily backed off immediately, like a dog. "It's none of your business. It's my burden, and I'll carry it alone."

And Mike walked away, leaving Emily alone, standing there, stunned by her friend's harsh attitude.

Mike was obviously not himself.

Glaring at Jayden as if he wanted to really hurt him? Almost injuring Kevin during a friendly spar because of a sudden temper spike? Getting angry and storming away from practice and to the city? Being harsh to Emily, whom he's usually kind and gentle with?

Tears slowly came to her eyes.

"Help!"

But Emily was quickly snapped out of her sadness by a cry for help. Her head snapped up when she heard it.

She saw a man kneel beside his bicycle, and she immediately ran up to him. "Hey! Are you okay?"

When the man didn't respond, Emily got curious. She waved in front of his face, but still no response. This was when she became concerned, especially once another cry for help sounded.

Emily took a careful look around. Everyone was frozen in place, in weird poses, unable to speak or anything. Those who were no frozen had already run away from the scene.

When she spotted Antonio, she found him by his cart, lying down on the ground, on his side, a plate of fish nearby. She ignored the fish, but instead focused on Antonio. She gasped.

"Nighlock!"

"Em!" Mike called out to her. The two shared one look, and she immediately stood, flipping out her Samuraizer on the way.

_**"Go, Go, Samurai!"**_

Switchbeast's little rampage on innocent bystanders when he heard an _**"Earth Slicer"**_, and he quickly ducked to avoid the giant yellow-colored shuriken.

Emily caught her weapon perfectly when it circled back around to her. "That's enough, Nighlock!"

"And what exactly do you two Samurai Rangers plan on doing by yourselves? As you can see there's only _**two**_ of you. According to my sources, there should be six."

"Hate to break it to you," Mike interrupted him, "but there's two of us and only _**one **_of you. And math wasn't my strong point in school. But either way, you're going down!"

Mike charged at Switchbeast, as Emily ran towards the people on the side, giving a man on gentle pat on his shoulders.

"Mike, everyone's frozen!"

"I knew there was a Nighlock behind this," Mike growled, pointing his sword at Switchbeast. "How? Change them back right now."

"Sorry, Green Bean, no can do."

And Mike charged again, this time, aiming to attack. The two slashed swords, and Emily soon joined in, but Switchbeast was able to overpower both of them easily. One slash to their chests, and Mike and Emily were down on the ground.

Switchbeast saw their position and was very pleased with himself. He sent a pointer finger at them, but it was quickly dispersed by Kevin and Mia, both morphed.

"What?"

"Surprise!" Switchbeast turned to see the Red Ranger, in the air, about to take a swing, and Jayden actually hit him. Jayden and Switchbeast engaged a little duel next. While the two were pressed their swords against the others', Jayden commented, "You really think we'd let those two down?"

"Of course not," Switchbeast replied, slashing Jayden across the chest, making him stumble backwards. Emily's heart jumped. "I've been waiting for you." And Switchbeast sent his pointer finger out again, this time at Jayden, and it landed square in his chest.

Yellow lightning sparked and shot all throughout his body, temporarily paralyzing him.

"Jayden!" Emily yelled, and ran forward, the other three beside her.

_**"Switch Blast!" **_The said blast kept the four Rangers back. "Just stay put. Greenie, you wanted to see how I froze all those people, right? Well, take notes."

On his other hand, Switchbeast sent out another pointer finger, this time landing on a gnome.

"Time to make a switch!"

Two lights, one from the gnome and the other from Jayden both entered into the pointer fingers and crossed each other on Switchbeast's chest, bfore resuming their courses toward the other "object".

Jayden demorphed, and his body assumed the position of the gnome, his sword on the ground by his side.

Emily and the others ran up to him and tried to get him to move, but he wouldn't. While the other three were preoccupied with Jayden, Emily glanced back at the gnome.

Could Switchbeast have...?

Speaking of the said Nighlock, he was walking toward the gnome, not Jayden. Underneath her visor, her eyes widened. "The Red Ranger is history!" Switchbeast aimed his sword at the gnome, raised it, and then swung down.

But Emily was faster.

Grabbing Jayden's sword, and she used both his and hers to block the Nighlock's attack on the gnome. She had a bad feeling what Jayden really was, and if she was right, and she let the gnome be destroyed, she'd never forgive herself.

"Back off, Yellow!" Switchbeast cried out, and he barely dodged an attac from Mike.

"History isn't my best subject either!" Mike retorted. "Leave her alone!"

The Nighlock ignored Mike's last comment, and said, "Oh, it isn't? Well then let me teach you!" The four remaining Rangers attacked him, but none laid a single hit on him. "In the year 14-hundred-and-92, Switchbeast took out Rangers Pink and Blue. _**Switch Blast!**_"

Kevin and Mia were knocked back into some boxes, and Switchbeast attacked them with his pointer fingers again.

When he was done, he took a moment to admire his work, and Emily took this chance to attack him again, wielding the two Spin Swords.

However, Switchbeast dodged every attack, however much it cost him the rest of his water supply.

"Damn! Out of water! Next time, Rangers!"

And in a red flash, Switchbeast ducked out of sight.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Shiba House, Meeting Room**

Mike set a pink fan next to Mia, a ballerina soundbox next to Kevin, and a fish next to Antonio.

"Jayden?" Jii tried to wave his hands in front of Jayden's face. "Are you there?"

"Jii," Emily gently said, holding a gnome, "Jayden is...right here." She motioned to the gnome in her hands.

"Really?" Jii sounded like he didn't believe her, and she couldn't blame him.

Jii watched as Emily set Jayden the Gnome on the table beside his body. A moment of silence, before she tapped the side of his hard head.

"You think they're..._awake_ in there?" She asked, waving a hand in front of the gnome's face.

_**Yes, we're awake! We hear you! **_They all collectively replied.

"So this Nighlock puts people's spirits in objects?" Jii asked, still unable to believe it.

"Yeah," Emily replied. "And then the victim's body takes the shape of the objects."

_**Why can't you hear us? **_Jayden asked.

_**Because we've been turned into inanimate objects that have no voice, **_Antonio explained, _**but at least **__we__** can still hear each other.**_

_**Back and forth, **_Mia muttered, _**back and forth. Pft! Who knew being a fan was so boring?**_

_**Boring?! **_Kevin demanded. _**If this thing doesn't stop spinning soon, I think I'm gonna be sick...**_

"Okay," Mike brought the attention to him, and he was being serious, "so the deal is, the person's spirit is switched over to the object. Switchbeast tried to destroy the gnome after Jayden was switched into it." Jayden glanced between Mike and Emily as they spoke. "I think that if the object gets destroyed...the person does too."

A silence followed, a very _intense_ silence.

"All those people..." Emily muttered. "They were at a rummage sale, selling junk, Mike. If unaffected people destroy those objects because they're not wanted anymore, then..."

Emily got nauseous at the mere thought of someone else murdered another human being, especially at the thought of Jayden dying if she let Switchbeast destroy the gnome..

_**Emily! **_Mia cried, but quickly remembered that only Kevin, Antonio, and Jayden could hear her.

"You okay?" Mike asked, making the other four extremely grateful they still had a voice within Mike. The Green Ranger looked very concerned.

"Y-Yeah," Emily shakily replied, slowly regaining her strength back. "Just a little sick..."

_**A little? **_Kevin asked, and he knew Mike was asking himself the same thing. It seemed like Emily was going to throw up right there.

Mike seemed very unsure, but he eventually, reluctantly let it go. "Okay, just...take it easy, okay? We are the only two Rangers available, after all. I can't have you getting sick on me..."

"Anyways, we have to find a way to switch them back as soon as possible."

"Right," Mike nodded, agreeing with her completely.

"Very well," Jii finalized, "I will search the archives for any information about this Nighlock Switchbeast."

But when Jii left the room, the atmosphere got intense once more, and Mike refused to look Emily in the eyes again.

"Mike-" Emily began.

"I'll be training if you need me," and Mike left without a second glance.

Once again, Mike left Emily to wander in the confusing abyss alone.

"What did I do?" Emily asked out loud, to no one in particular.

_**Nothing, Em, **_Antonio was shaking his head, well, if he had one, _**it's not your fault.**_

The others glanced over at him, confused and very curious.

But Emily's sad face only deepened. She couldn't hear Antonio at all.

Emily turned, still sad, and walked up to Jayden's still stiff body. She looked at him, straight into his blank eyes and sorrowfully stared into him.

While he was like this, she couldn't...

"I can't read any of your emotions," Emily stated, her voice breaking, not breaking her gaze with Jayden's eyes. "Any of you. Not even if I stare if the eyes of the objects you've become. It's like... it's like you're not there. It feels like none of you exist anymore."

Emily couldn't help but finally break her gaze as tears came to her eyes. She inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled.

"I wish I could talk to you, Jayden," Emily paused once again, before reaching up and gently fixing a stray part of his bangs woth her hands, moving the hair out of his face. "You'd know what to say. You always do."

The other three glanced over at Jayden, knowing this was true.

"And the first thing you would say to me..." Emily tried hard to think of the most appropriate thing Jayden would say, "would be to work out the teammate issue with Mike first, then defeat the Nighlock, and then we'll talk about everything else later."

Inside the gnome, Jayden smiled. _**Exactly right, Em. You know me so well.**_

Through her unshed tears, Emily also smiled. Using her wrist to wipe away her tears, Emily's will of fire began to ignite in her eyes.

She then saluted at Jayden. "Leave it to me!" And then she headed towards the backyard, were Mike usually trained.

_**Antonio, **_Jayden quietly, somewhat angrily asked his friend, _**you seem like you know something. About what's going on with Mike and Emily. Care to share?**_

_**I can't, **_Antonio regretfully, honestly replied. _**It'd be betraying Mike's trust. He'll tell you when he wants to tell you.**_

However, from the opposite direction, Mike entered from the front doors, in his training uniform.

"Emily?" He called. "I need to talk to yo-"

He paused, though, when he didn't see her.

"I'd ask you guys where she is," Mike turned to the others. "But we all know I can't hear you."

Mike turned to go back outside, but he stopped, giving Kevin a mischevious look.

_**Oh no... **_Kevin groaned.

_**Oh yes, **_was the others' reply.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Training Yard**

Mike was back outside now, and Emily had just found him. She had been watching him train for the past minute or two, just observing him.

"It's been a while since I've seen you train by yourself," she quietly spoke aloud. Just like she knew it would, it indeed caught his attention. "You want to explain what's on your mind?"

Mike immediately looked away.

Emily sighed. "Jayden would want us to fix the teammate problem first, before everything else." She paused, pursing her lips, before continuing, "we can't lose, Mike. We can't afford to lose. Lives are at stake."

Mike finally regained eye contact with her, and he motioned to the bench.

The two sat down, Mike first, then Emily.

Mike took a while to speak, but when he did, he was hesitant, almost sounded a bit like he didn't trust her.

"Look, Em...I really like you...as in like-like."

"Wha-?" Needless to say, Emily was shocked, speechless.

"Please, let me continue." Emily nodded. "I'm not exactly sure when I started feeling this way, but all I know is that I've been jealous of you and Jayden...together...and it's a very, very unpleasant feeling."

"I know how you feel." Mike looked over at her, curious. She knew? "You know the time we had to go undercover as brides?" Mike nodded. "The first wedding, you know, me helping Mia getting ready?" Mike nodded again. "That was when I first discovered I had a crush on Jayden. I was jealous of Mia getting to marry Jayden, even if it was pretend..."

Oh. That's where. But Mia mentioned having feelings for Kevin, right? Surely, it was just pretend in Mia's mind at that time.

"Besides, back home...living on a ranch, with a broken family..." _**Oh. **_"...kinda makes you different from the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. They get everything...while you just sit off to the sides and get nothing, friends included...when that happens over and over...you tend to get a little jealous of them."

"Em, I'm really sorry you had to go through such a horrible past, but you have friends now," Mike slowly spoke. "And I would rather be your friend than nothing at all."

"Mike-"

He cut her off. "It's alright. I'll get over it. Antonio said it was hard and that I should take my time, and I beleive him now, if I didn't before, but..." He paused, before repeating, "I'll be fine."

"I'm so sorry, Mike..."

"It's alright. I know you didn't know, and I also know how you look at Jayden. I know how you feel about him."

Emily gently smiled at him. "We both know I can't return your feelings, but I'm positive that there's a girl for you out there."

Mike smiled back. "Well, there actually is this girl back home..."

"Oh?" Emily wanted more details, but if Mike didn't want to give them to her, she'd understand.

"Her name is Angela, and she's one of my best friends."

"Beautiful name," Emily commented.

"Thank you," Mike continued, "and about earlier...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just don't want you getting hurt because of me, or anything else, for that matter, especially not the Nighlock."

Emily shook her head. Mike was ranting again.

So she cut him off, "Nothing's going to happen to me, Mike. I promise. We'll deal with this Nighlock _together_."

Mike stood up, all fired up and ready to fight. "Right. Let's get back to work."

"But before we do..." Emily also stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I should probably mention to you that I saw what you did to Kevin. Thus, I must inform you that when we come back from switching everyone back, he's going to _kill you_."

But she was smiling, and so was he.

And she went back inside, leaving him to his thoughts.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Meeting Room**

Emily had retreated to the kitchen after her talk with Mike outside. Seeing as how Emily was still in the kitchen, Mike figured it was safe to finally confess this.

Besides, he had just gotten his courage to say it aloud. It was now or never.

Still in his training uniform, he entered the room, immediately going up to Jayden.

"You should be happy to know, Jayden, that Emily and I talked out our problem. We're friends again, and I just know that you're confused right now by that last part. So I'll explain." Deep breath, Mike. It's okay. If you come out honest, Jayden'll understand. "I deeply apologize for my terrible behavior this morning. Truth be told, I was jealous. I recently found out that I really like Emily, but...I know she doesn't feel the same. It's common fact in this House that her heart seems to belong to you, Jayden. If you can't see that, Jayden, then you really need glasses. So I let her go. Her feelings should always come first. That being said...you shouldn't take my feelings for Emily lightly. I still care about her a great deal, and if you hurt her, I swear to God, I _will_ hunt you down."

_**Is that what you couldn't tell me, Antonio? **_Jayden asked. He was quiet through Mike's little speech, and now it finally all made sense.

_**Yeah, **_Antonio quietly. _**I told you it was Mike's problem.**_

Mike, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel a whole lot better than before. Antonio was right. Confessing his problems really did take a load off his chest. His mind was clear.

Speaking of which...

"Hey, Em! I need you!" Emily came rushing into the room from the kitchen.

"What? What is it?" She asked, afraid he had hurt himself or something.

"I have a plan to switch everyone back, but it's pretty reckless..."

Emily merely smiled. "Sounds like a Mike Plan. What is it?"

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**King's Plaza**

Mike and Emily raced to the site when the Gap Sensor went off. When they got, it was a typical scene everyone running away, screaming.

"Ah, they're singing my favorite song," they heard Switchbeast comment.

"Oh," Mike interrupted. "So, you like music, do you? Then, let's dance."

_**"Go, Go, Samurai!"**_

The two leapt up, rolled over in mid air, morphing on the way, and both struck at Switchbeast, who was able to easily block both swords with his sword-staff. The Nighlock flipped both Rangers over and the two landed on the ground behidn the Nighlock.

Switchbeast's first pointer finger hit Mike's chest. "Now, what should I switch you with? How about that mailbox over there?" The Nighlock's second pointer finger soared through the air towards the said mailbox behind them.

But Emily caught it in mid-air.

Using every bit of her strength and determination, Emily ran towards Switchbeast, who was the one on the other end of the switch.

Once the transfer was over, Switchbeast looked down at his body.

"What? I'm a Samurai Ranger?!" The Nighlock cried out in an incredulous manner. You, see, he was now in Mike's morphed body, and it was also vice versa.

"Nice!" Mike said, in victory. "It worked! High five!" Mike smiled as he and Emily shared a high-five.

"What did you guys do to me?" Switchbeast demanded. "Ugh! I feel all gross and hero-y."

"We're giving you a taste of your own medicine," Mike replied.

"Now, tell us the quick and easy way to switch everybody back," Emily added.

"Oh yeah? Well, as loathsome as this body is, I bet you don't want anything to happen to it." Switchbeast held Mike's blade up to his own throat. "Back off, or Greenie gets it."

However, Mike had a simple backup plan for this. "Oh, you don't like my body? Well then, we'll just put you somewhere else."

"Here, Nighlock, have a ball~!" Emily was seemingly enjoying this a little too much, but as long as the plan, that didn't matter.

Another transfer, this time involving Switchbeast and a soccor ball.

"Penalty kick!" Emily kicked the ball against a stone wall and caught it when it came back. then, she started squeezing. "I think something's wrong with this ball, it feels a little mushy."

Mike laughed, shaking his head, until he had to interrupt. "Okay, Em. I think we've made our point." And Mike transfered Switchbeast back into his own morphed body.

"Ow! That was just cruel! I think you broke a rib!" Switchbeast complaining, rubbing his chest in slight pain.

"This isn't a game, you monster!" Emily yelled back. "People's lives are at stake!"

"Tell us the secret," Mike sternly added, "now. Or we'll make your life _really_ miserable."

Switchbeast paused, but this only seemed to anger the two Rangers more.

"Quit stalling, Nighlock!" Mike shouted.

Finally, the Nighlock picked up Mike's sword. "Fine, I'll do it. Just don't move."

Switchbeast run up to his own body and slashed it across the top of the chest.

Emily heard Mike cry out, as the switching spell finally broke. She quickly raced over to Mike's morphed body and waved his hand over his face.

"Mike? Is that you?"

She was very pleased and releived to hear his voice come from his own mouth. "Yep," he patted her shoulder. "Whatever he did, I'm me again."

"Which means the others are also back to normal..." Emily smiled. "We did it!"

"Yeah, we did," Mike said, giving her a high five.

"Ow, I hit myself!" the Nighlock screeched.

"Serves you right, Nighlock!" Emily said, unsheathing her Spin Sword.

"Well, allow me to serve this! Switch Blast!"

Mike braced himself for the impact, but it never came. Emily was in front of him, and had blocked it with her Eaarth Slicer.

"Mike, it's time to use the secret weapon! Let him have it!"

"Right!" Mike acknowledged, as Emily ran off to stall Switchbeast as long as she could.

"Black Box! _**Super Samurai Mode!**_"

Emily glanced up from the fight to look at him. He was almost as impressive as Jayden and Kevin, but she knew his new Super powers would be just a strong as theirs.

"_**Super Samurai Ranger: Ready! **_I'll handle this, Em. Stay back!"

Emily got away just as Mike laid the first strike. She watched as Mike hit him in the same place three times, before a downward strike to his chest.

_**"Bear Disk! Super Spin Sword: Super Forest Vortex!"**_

Another downward strike finished Switchbeast's first life.

~P~O~W~E~R~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~T~O~P~O~F~T~H~E~W~O~R~L~D~

**Outdoor Dining Area**

"Well, I know this wasn't the best day, Kevin, but still, Happy Birthday!" Mia said. The Rangers, plus Jii, were outside, throwing Kevin his birthday party.

"Thank you," Kevin replied. "I'm just relieved to be back in my own body. Still, Mike, I can't believe you actually changed bodies with Switchbeast."

Mike sat down with his burger. "It wasn't like I wanted to, and it was way creepy, but it was the only way I could think of."

"Just be thankful it worked out," Antonio replied. "I was about to get eaten by a cat before we switched back. So, thank you, to the both of you."

"You should thank Mike," Emily said. "He was the one with the plan."

"No way, Em," it was Mike who answered. "I couldn't have done without you. Together, right?"

Emily smiled. "Right."

"Well, if it weren't for you two, I'd still be gnome," Jayden said, and everyone else smiled at him. "So thanks."

"Yeah, thanks, guys," Kevin agreed.

As everyone went back to their burgers, Jayden leaned toward Mike and quietly said, "I'm just hurt you didn't tell me before."

"Y-You heard that?" Mike didn't realize that the others could still hear. When he was confessing to Jayden about his feelings for Emily, he was only hoping that Jayden at least could hear him.

Jayden nodded. "Every word."

"So...you're okay with it?"

"Yeah, I am. As long as you try anything funny with Emily, I'm fine with it."

The two shared a smile as Mike nodded. "I understand," he said, before bringing out his Samuraizer, and showed Emily the picture he had taken.

Emily immediately laughed. Beside her, Antonio also started laughing. When Mike showed the picture to Jayden and Mia, they two burst out laughing.

Kevin glanced over at his estatic friends, happy that they were having a good time.

"Hey, Kev," Mike said, and Kevin turned his glance to him, "I have a special birthday present for you, and I really hope you like it."

"What is it?"

In response, Mike showed him the picture on his phone. Kevin in a tutu still made everyone laugh.

Kevin gasped, as if offended, and everyone's laughs got a little louder.

"You took pictures?" Mike nodded, unable to wipe the smile off his face. "Gimee that!"

Kevin tried to take away Mike's Samuraizer, but was unsuccessful.

"You'll have to chase me~"

And a chase ensued, much to the others' amusement.

All's well that ends well, after all.

~PRS~PRS~PRS~PRS~

There we go. Main pairing is still Jemily. (Nothing on Jia and Memily, of course. I think those pairings are cute too, but I only see them as siblings and nothing more.)

A/N: Well? What do you think? Review, please! And now for the next chapter (the one that is quite a sore subject for Jemily fans, but I promise that everyone will be satisfied). Check it out:

Chapter 17: 19.5 – Kevin's Choice

_"The ability to form a more powerful megzord than before arises just as Kevin faces an old decision that changed his life forever."_


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